Surgery on older rabbit

[chompsky]

We have a 9 year old but still quite energetic Dutch rabbit who lives in the house with us. Last year he developed a lump on his rump which a vet said was unlikely to be cancerous. We've simply been keeping an eye on it. It has since ulcerated, and we must make a decision whether or not to have it surgically removed. Naturally we're quite concerned about surgery/anesthesia on an older rabbit; weighing that against the reality of this is proving difficult.

His behaviour is fine; in fact he almost seems to be going through a second childhood (kit-hood?), binkying and running about. In other words, happy and healthy - except for that angry looking lump, and the fact that his droppings haven't been normal, which I assume is unrelated, but I might as well mention it. They start small in the mornings, then end up OK later in the day.

It's up to us to decide what to do, but any thoughts welcome.

 

[JBun]

Yeah, that's hard. At 9 years, anesthesia is more risky. I think you have to weigh how he's currently doing overall. If he does still seem quite healthy and energetic, and the lump is threatening or impeding his quality of life, then I would seriously consider having the surgery done. But if he's frail, and/or the lump isn't currently life threatening or causing significant issues for him, I probably would hold off on surgery.

With old buns that start to develop all these health complications, you really have to weigh the benefits of doing anything invasive or stressful. Sometimes the stress of having procedures done and the pain and difficulty of post surgery, just isn't worth putting an old bun through if they do seem to be slowing down and nearing the end of their life. It becomes more like hospice and managing pain and discomfort so they still have a decent quality of life. And when meds can no longer provide that relief, then it's time to talk to your vet about end of life.

But if he's still full of life, the lump is causing issues now that there's an open wound, and you have a really experienced rabbit vet to do the surgery, it might be worth considering. But go into it understanding that there is always risk with any surgery, and slightly heightened risk in an older rabbit.

The droppings starting off small, could have to do with diet (not enough indigestible fiber), or reduced activity levels, or age related reduction in gut health and motility. To figure out what, you would need to try and figure out if it correlates with anything he's eating or doing.