BUMPS for this board! I am not very knowledgeable in this area, but I know some people around here are. My prayers are certainly with you and I KNOW that you’re doing the right thing by having this surgery done, even if it does only buy a couple of years. A couple of years are better than nothing!

oh my. i don’t have experience with this, but we have several members who have had bunnies with surgeries like that and/or work in rescue. they should be along this weekend at some point.

Do they know what the underlying cause of the abcess is?  Another thread right now is going on about an abscess and it was the result of pasturella.  Before any kind of surgery I think you need to know why your bun is getting abcesses because it could come back.  I’m sure someone here, maybe Binky Bunny, has been thru this.

Hi Gina!  I remember you.   Welcome back! I am so glad you were able to spare Chewy from a deimise I don’t even want to think about. Anyhow, Binky Bunny has actually been through this and I will send her an e-mail to be sure she pays you a visit.  The antibiotic beads are somewhat new and have been used with a lot of success but are only used in certain cases.

Here are a few references in case you have not seen them yet:

Antibiotic beads:

http://web.archive.org/web/20020222062930/http://www.therabbeeotcharity.freeserve.co.uk/vet-anti.html

Charky & Ash’s Medical References (abcesses):

http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/rabrefs.html#abs

Yes, I have been through this with Rucy, and though it’s true, jaw abscesses can be stubborn, they are getting better and better and treating them.  Don’t give up hope!!    Rucy has been through three surgeries over her lifespan (she’s estimated to be about 7 or so)  She is a happy spunky bunny.

Her first abscess she had before I adopted her.   They operated on her and she was abscess free for two – three years.  (they put in pennicillin beads that really may have done the trick – ask your vet about this)  They did warn me that it could return, but I was up for the challenge. I loved her.

Then the abscess came back and we kept it at bay for a year with treatment until finally she had to have a couple of molars removed as they seemed to be the source. She seemed to do okay, but if I recall right, 6 month later it was still continuing to get inflamed.   My vet ended up seeking out a special dental vet, and together they took Rucy into surgery and found a left-over root from the molar.   Roots continue to grow even when teeth are removed, so it was just causing more problems.   Basically the root was the root  of the problem.

It’s been awhile since her last abscess surgery – dare I say two years (so hard to remember the timeline off the top of my  head).    And she has had a few little minor returns of irritation, but it has been taken care of with two weeks on Baytril so far.   I think she only had to be on that twice at the most since her surgery.

 She loves life and I love having her in mine,(and so does her bonded mate, Jack)  and so though the surgeries are bumps in the road, the road itself has been worth traveling on.

 The best thing I can advise, is research, research, research!

I’ll be back with some links to start you off with.  OP!  I see Scarlet set you up already with some great articles too.

Welcome back, I cannot add anything to BB’s remarks as I’ve never been through that, but {{VIBES}} for your bunny and please keep us posted!!

*bump bump*

Thanks KK for bumping this!

The surgery was for around $500 – $600 easily. It definitely wasn’t less than that. If your vet will try and do it for less, than that’s great as long as it’s just giving a discount, but not offering a lower standard of service.

Also note – it’s always a good idea, especially with this kind of thing to keep a Piggy Bank or Savings Account or Credit Card for these things as this may happen again in a couple of years, (hopefully not) but even putting $25 a month aside may help with these large costs that may crop back up later on.

Here are some more links to information about jaw abscesses and the beads as well:

http://www.therabbithutch.com/Health/abscesses/abcesses2.htm  (a personal story of someone going through it, and what they did to keep it at bay -beads were included)