Abscess on jaw - X-ray next, then what?

Hi,

One of my rabbits had a lump on her jaw so I took her to the vets tonight and it’s an abscess, the vet drained 30ml of gunk out of it

She’s on antibiotics and pain relief, and the vet has recommended an X-ray to see if it’s tooth roots related, but then what?

I want to go armed with as much info as possible, as I’m not sure how rabbit savvy this vet is..

So if it’s tooth roots, what’s next, do the offending teeth/roots get removed?

beckie20 said:

Hi,

One of my rabbits had a lump on her jaw so I took her to the vets tonight and it’s an abscess, the vet drained 30ml of gunk out of it

She’s on antibiotics and pain relief, and the vet has recommended an X-ray to see if it’s tooth roots related, but then what?

I want to go armed with as much info as possible, as I’m not sure how rabbit savvy this vet is..

So if it’s tooth roots, what’s next, do the offending teeth/roots get removed?

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Hi there :wave:

I'm sorry, abscesses (especially jaw) are difficult, I cannot lie.

I have dealt with dozens of them, but the good news is that many of them have a successful outcome

There is never 'one size fits all" with rabbit abscesses. In the past - when bicillin was briefly used here in the uk - abscesses were very bad news indeed. I have had many rabbits with abscesses and the care has got so much better since the early 2000's.

There are several options you can choose from. Your rabbit can have surgery (plus x-rays if you like), and perhaps have antibiotic beads sewn into the wound site. Then what often happens is they take a long course of antibiotics. Possibly a long acting penicillin - this is the only legal version here in the UK. Bicillin is only possible on a 'named patient' version. By the time you get the permit to give a rabbit Bicillin, it may be too late ...

One option I have tried several times recently is the 'lance and drain' technique. It's light sedation for the rabbit as opposed to a GA and big operation. The abscess can be lanced under light sedation, and drained. You as the owner will then have to clean this out, and perhaps pack the cavity with high grade Manuka Honey to keep it clean and promote healing. This would have to be done for up to two weeks in order to let the wound heal from the inside out. Injectable penicillin can also be given every day to begin with - you can do these yourself. The injections may become every other day and continue for several months.

Some people are against this 'lance and drain' method, and say that it doesn't work, but my rabbits are living proof that it *does* work. My rabbits using this method have not had a recurrence of the abscess many years later. It does however involve a lot of 'hands on work' for you and your rabbit may not like it either.

This is a long essay - sorry Please PM me if I can help further ...... I hope it gives you a bit more perspective on something that is very common in rabbits and is no longer necessarily a death sentence.


And some bedtime reading .....

http://www.all-creatures.com/blog-Abscesses+in+Rabbits.html

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Dental_diseases/Treatment/Facial/abs_dental.htm

http://www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/resources/content/info-sheets/abscesses.htm

http://rabbit.org/abcesses-in-rabbits/

http://www.ivis.org/proceedings/navc/2006/SAE/615.pdf?LA=1

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Dental_diseases/Differential/Rabbit_dentistry.pdf

I've had a rabbit who was treated successfully with a jaw abscess. It was not associated with tooth roots. My rabbit had the abscess removed surgically and had antibiotic beads inserted into the wound. The wound was stitched up and then I gave her daily Penicillin injections for, I think, 2 or 3 weeks. She recovered well and the wound healed very quickly. Despite my vet warning that the abscess sometimes returns, it didn't.

I hope your rabbit has a good outcome with whatever treatment is arranged.

No advice, but wanted to say get well soon to your poorly girl.

Now I’m concerned.

I had the last appointment of the day, so the draining wasn’t even done under sedation, all I’ve got is some metacam and Baytril, and a check up Friday.

I used to have such good vets but over the years they’ve left and the new ones just aren’t that rabbit savvy

Thank you for all the info, I will get reading!

beckie20 said:

Now I’m concerned.

I had the last appointment of the day, so the draining wasn’t even done under sedation, all I’ve got is some metacam and Baytril, and a check up Friday.

I used to have such good vets but over the years they’ve left and the new ones just aren’t that rabbit savvy

Thank you for all the info, I will get reading!

Click to expand...

I think you need to feel confident in your vet. What you could do is post a thread asking for rabbit savvy vet recommendations in your area?

beckie20 said:

Now I’m concerned.

I had the last appointment of the day, so the draining wasn’t even done under sedation, all I’ve got is some metacam and Baytril, and a check up Friday.

I used to have such good vets but over the years they’ve left and the new ones just aren’t that rabbit savvy

Thank you for all the info, I will get reading!

Click to expand...

This is sad to hear Beckie

If you want to find a good vet in your area (and I suggest you take your rabbit to see one) then you can start another thread in Rabbit Chat with the header:


Rabbit Savvy Vet needed in (your location)

...and members will help you out with their recommendations.

Alternatively you could look here:

https://www.harcourt-brown.co.uk/vetfinder/vets-owners-recommendations


http://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-care-advice/rabbit-friendly-vets/rabbit-friendly-vet-list/

Just so you know, I requested an appointment with the exotics specialist vet at one of the other branches, my bun has had the abscesses cleared out and stitched open (which looks much less gruesome than I had pictured in my mind!

The vet was reluctant to put her under a full general anaesthetic as she’s 8 and a half, but is hopeful today will do the trick - if not, it’ll be a proper op to insert antibiotics beads etc.

Ivan Crotaz works for my vets (different branch) once a week, but was fully booked on the day I first took her in, so when he’s back in the new year I can take her to see him if all is still not well.

Fingers crossed.

I’m lucky I’ve just been made redundant as £300 just before xmas is not ideal:shock:

This sounds positive Is she also on antibiotics?

I really hope she progresses well. Abscesses are horrid.

beckie20 said:

Just so you know, I requested an appointment with the exotics specialist vet at one of the other branches, my bun has had the abscesses cleared out and stitched open (which looks much less gruesome than I had pictured in my mind!

The vet was reluctant to put her under a full general anaesthetic as she’s 8 and a half, but is hopeful today will do the trick - if not, it’ll be a proper op to insert antibiotics beads etc.

Ivan Crotaz works for my vets (different branch) once a week, but was fully booked on the day I first took her in, so when he’s back in the new year I can take her to see him if all is still not well.

Fingers crossed.

I’m lucky I’ve just been made redundant as £300 just before xmas is not ideal:shock:

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Hi Beckie

I'm glad she has seen a good vet and it sounds like some good treatment. Did you come away with any pain relief such as Metacam, or antibiotics - injectable penicillin? Do you know your vet's thoughts on that?

Yes still on the metacam, and she’s on betamox antibiotics injections.

beckie20 said:

Yes still on the metacam, and she’s on betamox antibiotics injections.

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Was that choice made on the basis of a culture and sensitivity test?

Hi beckie20.
A small thought about jaw abscess to help the Abx work more effectively.
Pain relief is very important. There's a very old thread which may help you with this. I'm not sure but I think the user was Beckymarie. The rabbits were definately Casper & Poppy.
Operation was not an option for either.
Casper got it 1st. We used low chew foods - dried forage to take pressure off the jaw.
Both rabbits survived for months although no ABx were used, - much much longer than expected
Please please continue with Abx in this case, but maybe think of helping them work better.

MightyMax said:

Was that choice made on the basis of a culture and sensitivity test?

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Oh I don’t know, not a question I thought to ask!

She’s been on the betamox injections every other day, and metacam every day - had a check up with Ivan tonight and he has said we’ve done an amazing job as he can’t feel/see any pus, and that it usually takes about a month for an abscess of that size to get to the point which sugar is at already

Continuing with antibiotics for at least another week, and pain relief for the next few months to try to encourage use of and therefore wear on the teeth with the tooth root causing the problem.

Due to her age (9 in April Ish) he has advised to monitor - if the abscesses return in a short space of time, we look to remove the root.

I will look into that, thank you Thumps

beckie20 said:

Oh I don’t know, not a question I thought to ask!

She’s been on the betamox injections every other day, and metacam every day - had a check up with Ivan tonight and he has said we’ve done an amazing job as he can’t feel/see any pus, and that it usually takes about a month for an abscess of that size to get to the point which sugar is at already

Continuing with antibiotics for at least another week, and pain relief for the next few months to try to encourage use of and therefore wear on the teeth with the tooth root causing the problem.

Due to her age (9 in April Ish) he has advised to monitor - if the abscesses return in a short space of time, we look to remove the root.

I will look into that, thank you Thumps

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You've done amazingly sterling work beckie

Such a good update. Fingers crossed it goes away for good!

beckie20 said:

Oh I don’t know, not a question I thought to ask!

She’s been on the betamox injections every other day, and metacam every day - had a check up with Ivan tonight and he has said we’ve done an amazing job as he can’t feel/see any pus, and that it usually takes about a month for an abscess of that size to get to the point which sugar is at already

Continuing with antibiotics for at least another week, and pain relief for the next few months to try to encourage use of and therefore wear on the teeth with the tooth root causing the problem.

Due to her age (9 in April Ish) he has advised to monitor - if the abscesses return in a short space of time, we look to remove the root.

I will look into that, thank you Thumps

Click to expand...

I'm with everyone else that you have done amazingly well.
If your dentist wants to increase wear on the tooth, hold back on the dried forage for now. Improving the efficacy of ABx is all about pain relief & stress relief to improve the immune response. I think you've found ways to do this yourself.

She’s tough as old boots, my little bunny

If it had been one of my other rabbits they wouldn’t have coped as well with all the intense hands on treatment, but Sugar takes it all in her stride as long as she gets some herbs afterwards!

beckie20 said:

She’s tough as old boots, my little bunny

If it had been one of my other rabbits they wouldn’t have coped as well with all the intense hands on treatment, but Sugar takes it all in her stride as long as she gets some herbs afterwards!

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she sounds lovely