Avoid surgery at all costs?

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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 11sd replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 8 years, 11 months ago by Bam.

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- 05/13/2017 at 2:35 AM
  Koffee559
  Participant
  17 posts
  I’m really worried about Poppet. She was admitted to a veterinary hospital 24hrs ago because she was refusing food, although she was still pooing. They put her under sedation to examine her teeth and found spurring and ulcers on her tongue were they had been rubbing, although they said they weren’t that bad. They also found a “mass of material” in her stomach. They said they would give her meds for 48hrs and hope that the mass softens, or they would operate to remove the mass. I’ve read that rabbits are unlikely to survive this surgery. I’ve also read that the build up of material is likely to be a symptom of stasis as opposed to a cause. If things don’t improve in the next 24hrs i will need to decide whether I to let them operate. I’m now thinking that I should say no, not until all other possibilities have been exhausted. The vet caring for her has the reputation of being the most rabbit-savvy vet on the island. Should I just trust him? She has pooed over night and eaten a little bit so we are heading in the right direction but I want to be prepared. What should I do?
- 05/13/2017 at 5:36 AM
  jerseygirl
  Moderator
  22356 posts
  Oh goodness, that must be stressful! Sending many healing {{{vibes}}} out for Poppet.
  Im presuming they are doing hydration therapy to get the mass to move?
  I think it is really good they giving it time to see if it helps. Her eating some and pooping some is very promising! Being hospitalised means they can closely monitor her vitals. I think they would only go for surgery as a last resort. If there is a full obstruction and she starts to bloat, they can relieve gas from the stomach with a catheter. It doesn’t sound as it is a full obstruction though, thank goodness!
  
  One of our regular members, Muchelle, had her rabbit undergo surgery for a mass not too long ago. I hope she visits this thread to let you know about her experience.
  
  They put her under sedation to examine her teeth and found spurring and ulcers on her tongue were they had been rubbing, although they said they weren’t that bad.
  
  Im not sure what they mean by “not that bad”. If it was causing ulcers, it’s certainly bad enough and would have been causing discomfort. Did they mean the ulcers weren’t too bad?
  They trimmed off the spurs?
- 05/13/2017 at 6:58 AM
  Koffee559
  Participant
  17 posts
  Yes, they are doing hydration therapy. The vet just called to say he was pleased with her progress but when I visited her this morning she wouldn’t take her favourite treat, which is very worrying! They have smoothed down her back teeth. That procedure was completely 26hrs ago so I’m hoping that given a little more time her tongue won’t be so sore and the discomfort from the dental treatment will subside. I was initially told I couldn’t see the rabbit-savvy guy for a week (!) and the other vets I saw didn’t think her teeth were the problem because they had seen much worse.
  Thanks for your input.
- 05/13/2017 at 7:11 AM
  Muchelle
  Participant
  1141 posts
  If there is a solid mass in her stomach and her conditions are stable, you need to let them operate her as soon as possible. If there’s a ball of hair or paper or whatnot, the more time you wait the worse it is on the stomach. Did they perform an echo or an x-ray to determine the size/composition of the mass?
  If the mass is small or soft they can do a procedure through her mouth/throat (a bit like a stomach pumping in humans) before going for the most radical solution, that is the incision of the stomach. My bun barely survived, but he already was in super critic conditions when we rushed him to the ER.
  
  She will be sore for a while because of the ulcers in her mouth, so it’s normal that she isn’t eating much and possibly needing hydration and critical care.
- 05/13/2017 at 8:00 AM
  Koffee559
  Participant
  17 posts
  The vet did an x-ray. He said the stomach was full of “material” and explained that this could be dried out food, hair or something she shouldn’t have eaten. She ate some plastic sheet two weeks ago and she is always swallowing fur because she’s a ball of fluff and I have to argue with her every day to get her to let me brush her! I will ask about alternatives to cutting her open. I am, however, really hoping that it doesn’t come to this and that she starts to eat more in the next 24hrs. Thank you for your advice.
- 05/14/2017 at 4:56 PM
  LittlePuffyTail
  Moderator
  18092 posts
  Any update on your bunny?
- 05/15/2017 at 12:15 PM
  Koffee559
  Participant
  17 posts
  She came home from hospital today! Yay! I’m very relieved that there wasn’t a blockage in her digestive system and she is now eating and pooing. It seems that it was the molar spurs causing her not to eat. She has a check-up on Friday so I will discuss how we manage her teeth going forward. Thanks for your concern!
- 05/15/2017 at 5:32 PM
  jerseygirl
  Moderator
  22356 posts
  That’s great news!
  Thanks for updating. Do keep us posting on how thing go with her teeth.
- 05/16/2017 at 6:36 PM
  LittlePuffyTail
  Moderator
  18092 posts
  Glad to hear it
- 05/16/2017 at 7:17 PM
  Muchelle
  Participant
  1141 posts
  Glad to hear it wasn’t a blockage good luck with the teeth!
- 05/17/2017 at 4:01 AM
  sarahthegemini
  Participant
  5584 posts
  Oh what a wonderful update! So glad she’s okay!
- 05/17/2017 at 4:03 AM
  Bam
  Moderator
  17033 posts
  Yay!!!
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