Elsa-U/D 10th July RIP- The Last Post

Sending all my love and vibes for you both today, will be keeping you in my thoughts xxx

Sending lots of vibes for Elsa today xx

Elsa is home. Two Vets have examined her and they are both sure that she does not have a herniated spay. They also both agree that the swelling is not an abscess. Both Vets believe that Elsa has had a severe reaction to the material used for internal suturing. One Vet said that the same thing happened to her when she had a C- Section with her first baby. Apparently the swelling is caused by the body rejecting the presence of an 'alien' substance (the suture material) and the physiological reactions that occur cause lots of inflammation, the swelling being full of various cells, fluid and sometimes sterile pus.

The problem should be self correcting, but it may take many weeks. Elsa is not in pain and she is certainly not ill within herself. I am to monitor the swelling closely and if anything changes in any way then she will be seen by C immediately. Neither Vet this morning wanted to attempt a FNA of the swelling as doing so could do more harm than good.

I really, really hope that the swelling will resolve on it's own and that Elsa will not have to have more surgery. All this does mean that my plans to try to bond her with Endeavour are going to have to be put on hold.

I wish I were not so neurotic, but until the swelling has gone I wont be 100% happy about things.

You aren’t neurotic! I would feel the same. I’m so glad that it isn’t anything more serious and hope it resolves itself soon :thumb:

Your certainly not neurotic Jane. You care deeply for your pets which is what your pets deserve and get- as well as your love. It's good Elsa has you watching over her health and hope things settle down with her wound.

Jack's-Jane said:

Elsa is home. Two Vets have examined her and they are both sure that she does not have a herniated spay. They also both agree that the swelling is not an abscess. Both Vets believe that Elsa has had a severe reaction to the material used for internal suturing. One Vet said that the same thing happened to her when she had a C- Section with her first baby. Apparently the swelling is caused by the body rejecting the presence of an 'alien' substance (the suture material) and the physiological reactions that occur cause lots of inflammation, the swelling being full of various cells, fluid and sometimes sterile pus.

The problem should be self correcting, but it may take many weeks. Elsa is not in pain and she is certainly not ill within herself. I am to monitor the swelling closely and if anything changes in any way then she will be seen by C immediately. Neither Vet this morning wanted to attempt a FNA of the swelling as doing so could do more harm than good.

I really, really hope that the swelling will resolve on it's own and that Elsa will not have to have more surgery. All this does mean that my plans to try to bond her with Endeavour are going to have to be put on hold.

I wish I were not so neurotic, but until the swelling has gone I wont be 100% happy about things.

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I hope so too. It is good that a herniated spay and abscess have been discounted, but I would also not be 100% happy until the swelling had gone.

I have also had similar occurrences post surgery both with suture material and wound dressings.

Elsa just now



She is the most loving, gentle Bunny and I am so glad that ARC entrusted her to my care xx

She really is lovely

Sorry to hear about Elsa. My friend had a hernia operation six weeks ago and she reacted to the stitches and has two large swellings either side, as she had a double hernia. She refused the mesh and only had stitches. The swelling has gone down but she still has the swellings, thankfully no pain or complications but a bit of discomfort. Xxx

I am glad in a way that Elsa didn't have to have more surgery and hope with time the swelling will go down. xx

She's a beauty! Glad she is still feeling ok, despite the complication. Thinking about it, Cookie had a reaction to hers too.

It's good that she's OK in herself. Sending vibes x

What a beauty! And such a coy pose.

Mimzy had one of these after having that fatty lump removed from his shoulder. I see a lot more animals having suture reactions. Has there been a mass change in veterinary supplies to something that causes these issues? Seems highly prevalent. :?

Elsa remains 100% well within herself. Despite how it looks the lump by her spay wound is painless. She allows it to be touched/examined and does not show any signs of distress/pain. She's still as active as ever and binkies and periscopes.

I am not sure, but I think the swelling feels a little softer today. Here is a pic of it, for anyone interested



At the moment she is being assessed daily. Both Vets remain certain that there is no hernia/abscess. But they may do an U/S scan next week if there is no sign of it getting smaller. Apparently a complicating factor is that the internal suture material that Elsa has had a reaction to can take several months to dissolve. It may be that Elsa stops reacting to it- that her body 'gets used to it' so-to-speak. Or it may be that the swelling will take months to fully resolve.

Both Vets feel that an U/S is not necessary right now. But me being me (completely neurotic) I may ask C to do one next week. Elsa will not require a GA or sedation for this.

I think it’s testament to the love, care and quality diet Elsa gets from you Jane that even with the reaction, she is recovering so well.

Vibes for continued improvement.

I'm pleased that the issue is not worrying her in any way, but can completely understand how you are feeling. It's good that an u/s can be done while she's awake. Was the suture material used for her spay the same as the material used for her previous wound?

There are so many different hurdles to jump with rabbits and their ops One issue gets resolved and then another one presents itself.

Hoping that the swelling subsides very soon.

I also hope that the swelling goes down soon.

Elsa is one of my ru faves. Such a sweetie. I love hearing about her and seeing pictures.

Sending more vibes for beautiful Elsa and hope she is continuing to improve and I'm sure she's eating plenty.

How's the beautiful one's tummy now?

Omi said:

How's the beautiful one's tummy now?

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I was going to update Elsa's thread today !! Thanks so much for thinking of her. The lump is slowly decreasing in size, I'd say it's about a third of the size it was. It's a lot softer too. We are hoping that as the internal sutures dissolve the swelling will eventually disappear. It certainly hasn't caused Elsa any pain and of course it has not reduced her appetite ! I am not sure anything would :lol: