Louis is recovering from Emergancy Surgery :-(

[Sayuri]

Last night I was on the computer and Louis was bouncing around as usual, I looked up to see what he was doing and he had pulled a book off of the shelf and it had elastic sort of stuff that had metalic stuff wrapped around it to make it look silver. Well he had eaten about 12cm of it!!!

I called Louis vets and the company that do the out of hours for them were going to charge £80 ($160) out of hours fee + treatment costs. I asked if he needed to come in or if I should wait till morning and she said they couldnt tell without looking at him; well that was

helpful!!!

She said I could take him then or wait and take him but it was my choice which. I have NO money so I dont even have the fees but my boyfriend said he would pay it if we need to do it so to take him asap if I thought he needed to go.

I got some advice - some of which could have saved his life - last night and then stayed up all night till 6am. I then was so exhausted I went to sleep but woke up every hour to check on him. I realised at about 12 that I had looked at him but not checked for pooing (it was dark in the living room) - he hadnt done anything since at least 4am

I immediatly called my vet and the girl on the phone said to bring him in at 4.20 - I didnt want to wait that long and insisted she asked Erica, the vet, and Erica said to bring him straight away and dont wait.

She felt his bowels and he had a small collection of stools there so she thinks he has a blockage for sure and she is not only concerned about that but also the associated problems with rabbits not pooing for a period of time.

He is going to be having an x ray followed by surgury to remove the blockage and drugs to stimulate his gut.

I am SOOOOOOOOOOO worried about him, he's only 6 months old and so lovely - please cross your fingers and say a prayer for him

My vet is SO lovely with him and she only saw him on Friday for his tear duct flush so at least he wasnt in completely strange surroundings with strange people and I know she will do her best to care for him.

 

[Luvmyzoocrew]

:hug: oh i hope your baby gets better

 

[tonyshuman]

poor baby! sending good thoughts--

 

[pamnock]

Praying for Louis!!!!! Please let us know how he's doing as soon as you can.

Pam

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

Omg Alice. I'm so scared for you. I hope he comes out just fine. It worries me a bit about the surgery though, it's a very serious surgery. I'll be thinking about you and Louis and I'll have you guys in my prayers.

ray: Come on Louis.

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Poor little Louis! I hope and pray he does well today. I can't believe the little imps can get into such things like he has! It's so hard to bunny proof when they want to chew on EVERYTHING!

ray:

 

[Sayuri]

The vet did say that she was surprised he had eaten what he had as it wasnt like it even tasted very nice

Thank you everyone for your support!

I just called the vets and spoke the receptionist - as you do - she says that Louis has had surgery and he is ok but they couldnt find anything :shock:

I can pick him up at 6.30 and I will talk to Erica then, as the receptionist just repeats what she is told to. Does anyone have any ideas why she couldnt find anything and why he has stopped pooing?

I feel better now that his surgery is over and he is going to be sleeping in my bedroom tonight so that I can keep an eye on him and also because it is a lot warmer in here than it is in the living room - I think Grace will be pleased to see him home, despite the lack of bonding she does seem to be sad when he isnt home.

Any post surgery advice for my little boy?

 

[Haley]

I know its a little late, but is your vet rabbit savvy? I dont know many vets who would open a bunny up like that, especially without knowing for sure there was a blockage (via xrays photos etc). Surgery is very invasive and you run the risk of infection after the fact etc.

I would ask her why she operated without looking at xrays to see if there was indeed a blockage! He shouldnt have had to go through that and you shouldnt have to pay for it

As far as post op, just keep things clean and quiet for him. Ask for pain meds bc hes going to be hurting. And I would avoid gut motility drugs if there is no blockage.

Im so sorry you both had to go through this

 

[Flashy]

Maybe he was just going through a non-pooing time? My Hope will go for hours with no poos and never seems troubled.

As for post op advice, i would say make sure he is warm. Provide him with lots of fresh hay, and a bunny buffet of all the things he likes to eat. Don't be surprised if he doesn't fancy his pellets today, but try to encourage him to eat other foods, and keep giving him fresh hay (they seem to eat fresh hay more than hay that has been there for an hour or so, probably because it smells nice and new). Watch for pooing and weeing and make sure he has access to as much drink as he needs.

Ooh, and make sure he has some pain meds of some sort.

I hope he's ok. Keep us updated

 

[Haley]

Good advice Flashy

I would ask the vet if they can lend you one of the heating disks they usually have- they go in the microwave and stay warm.

I would also stop and buy some of his favorite greens and maybe some canned pumpkin if you can get your hands on it. It wouldnt hurt to try some pedialyte as well..

 

[Flashy]

Pedialyte in the Uk is called Dioralyte (just so you know and don't go looking for something that doesn't exist over here, lol).

Just wanted to add that Hayley is right about having that, because he will be dehydrated after the anaesthetic and it could help perk him up.

 

[ra7751]

I'm thinking along with Haley....this entire thing scares me. And I hope that they didn't give motility drugs....that brings a lot of baggage for a fairly healthy rabbit but post-op really is scary. But since it's past now, lots of pain meds, fluids and lots of TLC is in order. I'm sending lots of healing thoughts. Gut surgery is major invasive and something that should be a last resort. We have had so many rabbits come thru here with impactions and neither motility drugs or surgery were at any time considered. Not saying that surgery is not indicated in some instances (tumors, fatty growths, etc) but it is something I would consider only as a "hail mary" treatment.

Randy

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Yeah, I'm shocked at the sudden surgery they did before trying to "unblock" with other means.

Rabbits unfortunately go into stasis often and there are a lot of things we can do to get them going again before surgery is necessary.

 

[Haley]

Heres a great article if you would like to discuss its contents with your vet http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html

Its written by a very rabbit savvy and experienced vet here in the states. She clearly states that xrays should be done and surgery should be a last resort.

 

[pamnock]

I agree that GI surgery for "blockage" should be the absolute last resort.

We've got a doe that's been in stasis for a couple weeks - existing only on Nutri Cal - and she finally started to eat on her own just last night. No poops this entire time (although she may have eaten cecals).

Hope Louis has a successful recovery.



Pam

 

[Sayuri]

He is going to be having an x ray followed by surgury to remove the blockage and drugs to stimulate his gut.

X rays AND an ultra sound WERE done - she saw something on them to make her concerned enough to open him up otherwise she wouldnt have done it

 

[Sayuri]

He is getting worse!!

He is struggling to regulate his tempreture and he had dhiorea in his cage. I spoke to the nurse at the emergancy vet and she said to do the hot water bottle thing to warm him up and siringe feed him food and water.

I just managed to give him some food but he wont swallow it so it is sitting in his mouth but she said that was ok he will swallow eventually - I will give him 15 mins to do that then give him water.

She said he has a 50/50 chance of surviving till morning

 

[Luvmyzoocrew]

ray:ray:ray:ray:

 

[pla725]

I'm sorry to hear of this. I really think you need to get him to an emergency clinic for sq fluids. I wonder if he has developed an infection. I would get him to an emergency vet immediately.

 

[tonyshuman]

oh no!! poor Louis!:?
**sending prayers**