Berri isn't well

[Michaela]

Hey everyone, I know I haven't postedon here in a while but I've just started back and school and they'vereally piled on the homework!

Anyway, I've been really worried about Berri. She had a bulging eye soa few weeks ago we took her to the vet and he said it was glaucoma. Iwas told by different people it probably wasn't this but we gave it abit of time to see if the treatment worked- it didn't.

So this evening we took her to a different vet whoseems toknow more about rabbits. She has to go in on Wednesday and they'regoing to put her under anesthetic to see what the problem is. I'm soworried! He said it might just be a bad tooth they need to remove or itcould be something very serious:bigtears:

Could someone please tell me what are the risks for rabbits underanesthetic and please could everyone say a prayer for my baby?ray:

 

[SOOOSKA]

Hi Michalea,

I will say a prayer and light a candle for Berri. Hope she feels better real soon.ray:

Soooska:apollo:

 

[Pipp]

You can read about various eye ailments here...

http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=14567&forum_id=10

Did your first vet do an eye pressure test, take xrays and/or do anultrasound or was it a guess? What does the other vet want todo that requires anesthetic? Anything beyond anxray? Sometimes some of the fairly simple tests are best doneunder anesthetic seeing as bunnies can besquirmy.If that's the plan, these days theyusuallyjust give a them adrug that knocks them outfor about 30 minutes and another drug to wake them up and it's prettysafe. (My vet uses a fairly new one,Domitor,akaMedetomidine, with great success).Evengeneral anesthetic is pretty safe these days, too.

Don't be too quick to write-off the first glaucoma diagnosis because the treatment didn't work.

Here's an excerpt:

Glaucoma is a disease where an excessive intraocular pressure (IOP)causes damage to the retina. Blindness results when the IOP is too highfor too long. Normal eye pressure is 15-25 mmHg. Glaucoma values can beinterpreted as 26-95 mmHg. In New Zealand White (NZW) rabbits, thecondition is inherited as an autosomal recessive trait. The onset ofdisease in the NZW is often between 3-6 months of age.

Clinical signs include buphthalmos (enlargement of the globe),generalized corneal edema (cornea appears blue), and blindness.Treatment of glaucoma is often frustrating. There are numerous topicalmedications (carbonic anhydrase inhibitors, prostaglandin antagonists,beta-blockers, parasympathomimetics) that can be utilized alone or incombination. Glaucoma is a disease that will require chronicmedications and frequent rechecks. The target IOP for a visual eye withglaucoma is below 20-25 mmHg. If the IOP starts to rise, thenadditional medications will be recommended. The goal is to keep avisual eye visual.

Sometimes surgery may be recommended for either the visual (diodelaser cycloablation, cyclocryoablation) or blind eye (enucleation,evisceration). Another option for a blind glaucoma eye is an injectionof gentamicin antibiotic into the eye. This is called a chemicalablation. A chemical ablation "kills" the eye's ability to producefluid. Without fluid production, the IOP drops permanently. The goalwith a blind glaucoma eye is to keep the eye comfortable. Pressuresbelow 35-40 mmHg are considered comfortable.


The other vet probably wants to knock her out to do an xray to makesure it's not caused by an abscess (like an infected tooth), and runother tests, which can involve giving her a needle, etc., also doneunder anesthetic.

Depending on what tests the first vet did, no point in paying for a duplication of services.

I'd read the above links (there's a few hard to understand ones and afew easier ones, just look at them all), and then askbothvets a lot of questions.

Let us know how she is!

sas ray:and the warren ray:ray:ray:ray:ray:

 

[naturestee]

What treatment did your vet try?

This is an excellant article on rabbit anesthesia:
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=671&S=5&SourceID=43

As long as the vet is decently experienced, anesthesia is usually verysafe in rabbits. It's a good idea to have her blood testedfirst to check her kidney and liver function because if they aren'tworking right she'll be more likely to have complications. Myvet recommends this before all surgeries, even spay/neuter on healthyyoung animals, just in case. While they're testing that, theymight do a full blood panel to see if there are any other problems suchas anemia, high white blood cell count (usually from infection), etc.

 

[Michaela]

Firstly, thanks for the replies, they've been really helpful.

The first vet didn't do any tests:shock:. I was reallyannoyed! He just guessed it was glaucoma! The new vet wants to knockher out to look inside her mouth to see if its an abcess or a tumour orwhat.I don't know if he's going to do any x-rays or not. Ifhe can fix the problem while she's under he will, and if not he'llcontact us and tell us if there is anything he can do. I really don'tknow hat I'll do if I lose her. She was the first rabbit I've ever hadand she's only two.

 

[naturestee]

I like the second vet. I hope she can find and fix the problem! ray:

 

[Michaela]

Thank you naturestee, so do I!

 

[Pipp]

A visual exam won't always work, she'lldefinitely need an xray, I'm sure that will be the case. AndI think maybe he'll be able to test the eye pressure for a glaucomadiagnosis? Not sure how that works.

Anabscesscan bemore serious than the glaucoma.

And good advice from Naturestee from the pre-op tests.

Good luck to the little one. ray:

sas

 

[Michaela]

Okay, so Mum took Berri to the vet this morning(I had to go to stupid school:X). They rang and told us she was fine(although mum didn't ask what exactly it was) and we're going to pickher up soon so all went well I think! I'll post again when I know moreand she's home.

 

[Michaela]

I have great news!

We brought Berri home yesterday evening and she's ok! The vet says itwas an abcess so he cut it out. I do have a question though-he left thewound open (it isn't huge or aything) is this to drain it outsomething? He was really busy and we didn't have time to ask himeverything we wanted.

Thanks!

 

[m.e.]

Did he give heran antibiotic shot, or send her home with oral meds? Did he giveinstructions for cleaning the wound?

I'd call the office if you're not sure what to do. At the very least, the open abscess needs to be kept clean.

 

[Michaela]

Yeah he said he gave her antibiotics and told usto bathe it, but when I was bathing it earlier it started to bleed abit, not much and it stopped pretty quickly but it freaked me out abit. She keeps trying to clean it herself but it's in a really awkwardplace for her so she can't really.

 

[Haley]

Poor little Berri! Im glad to hear you were able to figure out the cause of the problem and get the abscess removed.

Two of my buns just had them removed (both in the mouth). We're giving oral antibiotics and cleaning the wound daily.

I would just keep an eye on her to make sure everything is healingproperly. If she'll let you, it would probably be good for you to cleanthe wound daily.

Sending lots of prayers and thoughts your way. Get well soon Berri ray:

-Haley

 

[naturestee]

I'm so glad he was able to find theproblem. Does she have continuing antibiotics or did he givea shot? If you still have questions, you could always set upa phone appointment to talk to him. I've done that before.

Full recovery vibes headed your way!ray:

 

[Michaela]

She doesn't have to keep getting antibiotics, he said he gave her an injection, will this be enough?

He wasn't actually sure if the abcess was causing the bulging eye, hesaid it only went down a little bit when he operated. I think her eyeis getting smaller now, it definitely isn't as red or sore looking asit was!

*crosses fingers*

 

[m.e.]

Rex recieved aseries of three antibiotic shots over three weeks. Abscesses need to betreated fairly aggressively. You may want to ask your vet about keepingher on antibiotics for a little longer :dunno

 

[fender32]

my prayers go out to your little bun. I know exactly what you feel like.

ray:

 

[Michaela]

Thank-you for your prayers everyone.Unfortunately, Berri's eye is still bulging. Personally I think she hasanother abcess. I mean, how could an abcess on her lower jaw cause hereye to bulge out???:?Should a vet not think of this andinvestigate? I want to take her back (to a different vet!)and see what they saybut mum says we should wait a while yet.

Luckily Berri doesn't appear to be in pain and she is still eating (butnothing would ever put Berri off her food, she is so greedy...).Because I'm only 15 I can't really take her to the vet myself

 

[JimD]

Michaela wrote:

Thank-you for your prayers everyone. Unfortunately, Berri'seye is still bulging. Personally I think she has another abscess. Imean, how could an abscess on her lower jaw cause her eye to bulgeout???:?Should a vet not think of this andinvestigate? I want to take her back (to a different vet!)and see what they saybut mum says we should wait a while yet.

Luckily Berri doesn't appear to be in pain and she is still eating (butnothing would ever put Berri off her food, she is so greedy...).Because I'm only 15 I can't really take her to the vet myself

My first thought would be that there is a problem with the tooth root,or a tooth spur, or possibly a malocclusion issue.....andthat might be what caused the abscess. If this is the case, the abscesswill probably reform.
The nasal and orbital bone structure could all be affected by anabscess and could cause the eye to bulge ...as well as other symptomssuch as a runny nose/eyes or drooling.

Keep a close eye on her. An abscess can form and spread rapidly if not detected early on.
And keep in mind that bunnies are very good at hiding pain....it's an instinct.

`jim

 

[naturestee]

:yeahthat

Was the eye bulging less after the abscess was removed and now it'sbulging more? Or is it the same as after the removal, it justnever stopped bulging all the way?

Did the vet get the xrays done?