Head turn, not tilt

[ta240]

We got the second opinion today. This Vet said that all the bunnies that she has worked with that had the surgery had some form of nerve damage to their face after and most required regular eye drops because they couldn't properly close the eye on that side any longer.

But she also worded the alternative to surgery as just keeping him comfortable for the time he has left. She said it would be very unlikely (a miracle) that the infection would be eliminated without surgery.

There is also the issue of the indication on the CT Scan of infection on the brain that the surgery would not correct, if it is still there. We don't know if any of the antibiotics have knocked it down or not. I'm not sure if another CT scan would show a change or just show the damaged area. An MRI requires deeper sedation.

He is definitely more himself than he was before, he will come up to the front of his home to see us and tosses his food dish around. His eyes still do the scanning thing but mostly when he is tired or stressed. He has gained 0.25Kg since his first visit and can clean himself without falling over, which isn't so great with the stuff gathering around his eye because he was able to scratch at it.
He still only moves in circles to the left, if he wants to move slightly to his right he does a nearly complete circle to get there.

 

[JBun]

Any mention of trying azithromycin? I've seen the best and quickest results with it of any antibiotic, in knocking back infection and clearing it up, despite there being increased risk of possible side effects with it. But it will depend on what bacteria is there, on whether it would be effective.

I had a rabbit with an eye abscess, after she had a badly infected eye removed. We tried the baytil, then one or two other antibiotics (can't remember exactly). Finally tried azithromycin. Within 3 days, all visible signs of infection were gone. But it did take the highest recommended dose for an extended period (3 weeks), for the infection to not return. She was 9 at the time and lived another year with no reoccurance, before she passed from old age. Her bunny companions also contracted various eye and respiratory infections from her due to the contagious nature of this bacteria, and all their infections cleared up with the azithromycin as well, on high dose extended treatment.

There is some risk of it causing serious digestive upset, but my rabbits only experienced mild stomach cramping for a few hours after their dose. Despite that, it's what I would want to try as a last ditch effort before deciding on surgery, if the bacteria found was sensitive to it.

 

[ta240]

no, I'll have to ask about it. He does have a very sensitive stomach though.

 

[ta240]

We opted for the surgery. It went well and he spent 2 nights in recovery.

When we got him home for the first two days he absolutely devoured his pellets. He still curled up a fair amount, especially when he was tired, but he would lay straight sometimes. He had more of his spunkiness back and seemed more alert.

Then after those first two days he just lost interest in them. At first he'd eat some out of your hand but now he won't even do that. He still eats his veggies and gets critical care. He will sniff at the pellets sometimes and look like he is going to eat and then he just turns or circles away. It is the same with his hay, he will pick it up like he is going to eat it and then just drop it and turn. He seems listless.

He will eat hard treats so it doesn't appear to be a chewing issue. His incision is healing up nicely and he doesn't appear to be in any noticeable pain and he is on all his regular antibiotics and pain meds still. He is back to doing the thing where he acts like he has to circle. If we stop him he will push against us and as soon as we let go he continues.

The vet doesn't have any idea and seems to think as long as he is getting critical care it is fine. They are doing blood tests but we haven't gotten the results back yet.

 

[JBun]

If symptoms are returning, I'd be inclined to think that it's due to the infection and some sort of discomfort from the infection returning. I can't see any other reason the circling would come back after seeing immediate improvement post surgery. That would be my guess anyways.

This is the common problem with infections in rabbits. Surgery doesn't necessarily just stop the infection returning. It's a battle to clear it up completely. It was the same for my rabbit that had her severely infected eye removed. Even after complete removal of the infected eye and the incision completely closing and healing by all appearances, she then developed an abscess in the empty eye socket, that burst open. Which is how I discovered that the infection was still there, just hidden temporarily.

It took a high dose of a 'heavy duty' antibiotic, and extended treatment period, to clear up the infection completely.