I can’t tell you anything about costs, but here’s a thread where forum leader Jerseygirl tells about her rabbit that had a lower jaw abscess. It seems her buns got some type of sponges with antibiotics on them instead of beads:
https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/aft/161857/Default.aspx

I had to get abscess surgery for Rookie and for him they removed a tooth as well. They didn’t end up putting beads in for him but I paid for it and they said they would use them when needed. I am in Ontario, Canada and it was $1300.

yeah so Rookie too had a lower tooth abscess. They went in to scrape out the infection as it was reaching his jaw. During the procedure they realized the affected tooth was actually broken so they pulled it then cleaned out the infection. They were confident that they got it out pretty good do they deemed it less invasive to not put in the beads at first and see how he recovered. He was on Penicillin shots instead. But the cost of the beads was calculated into the full procedure so instead he just didn’t charge me for the follow ups. But yeah the procedure and recovery meds totaled $1300.

no problemo…what area are you in?

Lol I’m in Toronto too. I went to Greenwood Park Animal Hospital. Both bunny docs and their bunny staff are absolutely amazing. I woudlnt go anywhere else.

They did a really good job with Rookie. I highly recommend them. Both doctors are super bunny savvy and lead rabbit care research and always looking to better care

Tell them Sprocket and his mom sent you.

Personally I would only cause Rookie’s infection was spreading really fast. The abscess filled up one night when to the ER they drained it there then went to Greenwood a day later and it already had to be drained again. The doc at Greenwood tried to avoid surgery at first so he started treating it with penicillin righr away but the abscess kept filling up. I think I scheduled his surgery on a Tuesday and it was going to be a Friday and we had to go to get it drained the Thursday cause it was getting big again. Then day of surgery they said it was very aggressive and spreading fast despite being on antibiotics.
I don’t want to scare you but I lost Rookie to this entire thing. So I recommend everything at the earliest. He was diagnosed with it start of January and I lost him in Easter weekend in a 3 days. ?

yeah so Rookie’s filled with pus and kept filling up. It did reach his jaw and he had the bone affected as it was bumpy after where it was eaten away by the infection. I am not sure if it hit his jaw and then travelled down to his cheek where it filled up or it filled up and then it affected the jaw. But when I first noticed it it was very sudden it filled up in a few hours as I was home and he was normal and then as we were getting ready for bed he started pulling his head to the side like a twitch and his eye would move back too and at first I was scared it was a head tilt issue but then his right whiskers area was bigger than the other like being bitten by a bee and that’s what I thought it was but I rushed him to the ER and they said it was a tooth abscess and they drained it and it started on from there…going back clearing out and then eventually the surgery.

Rookie showed no signs of it till i saw that swelling…nothing…so that ER visit started it all. from that we tried treating it at first non intrusive to give him a chance to fight the infection off. Then as time passed (2weeks I think) we knew surgery needed to be done. He was lucky that once they went in and pulled that tooth it was very obvious it was the trouble maker of it all and they could just clear out the infection. But yes it did travel to his jaw a bit and it altered the bone structure at the bottom of his jaw where I could feel it being bumpy and uneven. He was in antibiotics and penicillin for a long time. From January to the week before Easter. It was a Friday when he got a clean bill of health and they said we could stop the meds which I was so happy about cause I had to give him injections and meds several times a day. Then a week passed where he was the cutest and happiest self and we had no problems. I came home literally on the Friday night the week after in the afternoon and seeing that I left him at noon that day and he was totally fine I came home and something was just off. my bunny mom senses were tingling. he just let me squish and touch him way more than normal so and his tummy was rumbling so I quickly gave him some left over tummy meds and alfalfa hay to make sure he ate and he did. this was at 5pm… at 7pm he failed the treat test so off we raced to the ER. They said he had gas and sent us home with some gas meds and critical care. Saturday at 8am I raced him to Greenwood Park as he was not looking any better and they kept him for the day in an incubator as his temp was down. I took him home in the afternoon with meds an IV and hot pack. I saw still no improvement at around 10pm so I raced him again to the ER. They offered to keep him that night to give him food and meds every hour but said his temp was normal and they quoted the stay for a $1200…I played with the idea of leaving him but already $5000 in the hole with his past few months I opted to take him home as thought I could too give him his meds and critical care each and hour and with his temp now normal I figured it was better if I could be with him. so I took him home. I almost turned around to take him back but didn’t…. I took him home and spent the night with him on the floor chasing him with a hot pack whenever he moved to keep him warm and put the apartment heat on to 35C. I was up every hour to give him critical care and water. he was looking better. so Sunday we spent together. I called the ER on sunday evening at around 2am so I guess Monday by then and told them that he was drinking sooooo much water….like head under water in his water bowl and his tummy was hard as before and I could hear his tummy swishing water but he looked more alert than all weekend. they said to take the water away and to bring him in if I am worried or I can wait for Greenwood in the morning. Seeing how he looked more alert I put off the ER visit as it was a 45min drive each way (35 for me racing each time). I fell asleep with him on the bed and woke up at around 6am and he was in the living room and his breathing seemed very off. so at 630 I packed him up and knew Greenwood would open at 8 but they have people there by 7 so I left a message saying we were coming in hot and to get the incubator ready. I ran red lights and raced there hand on him the whole time….and then it happened. I could feel him… it happening but kept running lights in false hope ..just maybe…but we got there and he was gone. Easter Monday April 17.

I wished over and over that maybe if I had left him at ER that night when they offered…maybe if I took him when I called at 2am…just maybe….

His official cause of death was GI Stasis but the doc wasn’t convinced…but I didn’t agree to the brain sample to check for EC… I was afraid that it may not give the answers I was looking for. instead I put the test money into a nicer vessel for his ashes.

With rookie the thing was that he did actually recover from the abscess and the infection but whatever happened after he was off of antibiotics is what took him. As I said even the vet couldn’t tell what happened other than he did get GI stasis but from what and why didn’t he revover…my thought was that he was on antibiotics so long that his system wasn’t able to fight whatever he had in the end on its own. Cause he was only off of antibiotics for exactly a week before the day he got really sick

Sorry to post and run. I do want to revist this thread when I have more time (and wits ).
Just wanted to leave some links.

I don’t know if you have CareCredit in Canada but I did just find this service. It might help ease the pressure of the financial side of this.
http://www.petcard.ca/

Also, since you are in Ontario (and Rookie) have you ever checked out O.R.E.O ? It a great resource that has been around a good number of years.
http://ontariorabbits.org/ They have Facebook page also which can be a good way to get more local information from other rabbit owners.

I have not yet found any available insurance for bunnies in Canada let alone in Ontario. I will check out O.R.E.O.

I just looked at OREO and all their forums are in a different language…pet card doesn’t cover bunnies.

Yeah, it’s the same here in Australia. : (
Petcard and CareCredit are alternative options to insurance. We have something similar here called VetPay.

I had funds to cover things to certain point but it added up quick by the end. Thankfully I’m in a position now to pay that all off and start fresh again. For Sprocket too there will be a health fund aside but hoping I won’t need it

That’s what I suspect happened.

I’m going to be getting small-animal pet insurance right soon for Panda and Fernando, whatever its limitations. With good diet, good care and a little luck it’ll be a long time before anything beyond regular wellness exams and maybe things like dental care are needed, but I’ll take the insurance out all the same. I looked into Pet Assure (a discount program for vet care) but none of the rabbit-savvy vets recommended to me appear to be in the program, though I’ll have to double-check on that. I know about Care Credit, which I’ve also been looking at for my own health care, but it’ll be a few months yet before I’m in a position to get that particular credit card, so I’ll have to rely on my other credit cards in the interim. (The ins and outs of managing credit cards are a fascinating topic, but not really relevant to here!)

Unfortunately you can’t predict when you will need it. Rookie was only 2 years old and he was taken well care of…only got the best and had check ups every 3 months. So you just can’t predict it.

Any news????

Yeah surgery can be very expensive. We send you both well wishes and keep us posted

Wishing you luck!!! Hope all goes well.

Keep us posted!

That’s tough…is the infection ever going to go away? Can it be treated so she doesn’t get puss all the time filling up? For Rookie they gave him penicillin for the infection and it worked well for the infection once the main cause of it was done aka the tooth was removed.

Im a bit taken aback that you’ve been given so little options.

You did answer a qu I had for you, about where the hole was (internal or external). 
Are you able to actually get to the area to try get pus out on regular basis? Getting it out on regular basis is good to keep on top of infection but inside the mouth is probelmatic. It’s an area that will trap food and harbour infection.
Pus can be very destructive. It can cause more loss of bone.

There is a technique (other then antibiotic beads) where bone cement that is mixed with an antibiotic is used. I wonder if they could create a plug like this perhaps? The beads are essentially the same thing – the bone cement is a resin and is used to make the beads (as far as I understand it).

{{{Victoria}}}

ETA: Do you have pain meds for her? 

I am too really surprised they can’t close that area somehow to be honest. I get that it is inside the mouth but still don’t bunnies have gums too? How can the area not scab over or close itself somehow? And until that how can it not be stuffed with beads or something to fight the infection constantly ?

Are you considering a second opinion at all? I truly recommend my vet as an option as they did do a really good job and giving us options with Rookie and they did a good job treating him. I know it takes an emotional and financial toll to deal with something like that so if you need anything don’t hesitate to private message me and ask. I would like to help any way I can.

Oh right! I had thought this vet visit was with the vet you recommended, Rookie.

I agree with Rookie and jerseygirl, you need to get a second opinion if you can find another vet in your area that’s rabbit-savvy.

Both dr. Erin and dr. Markus are fantastic at Greenwood Park. Ask to speak to Chris the technician to make an appointment

How far are you from Greenwood Park? I was 20mins before and I am now 45mins from them but I will still take Sprocket there for everything other than immediate emergencies. I mean of course it’s your call but it may be worth a drive. I don’t know…it s a tough situation that I too was in and it’s not easy. I’m sorry you have to deal with it.

I can’t imagine swallowing daily puss is any good for her. Your gums close up too when your tooth gets pulled so I don’t understand how that does not regenerate over the jaw for her. And the no pain medication? That sounds crazy to me.

The pain would be from pressure. So think of a pimple or an ingrown toe nail…the pressure from the puss expanding the gums is what would hurt. And biting on it like when your gums swell up cause you have popcorn stuck between your gum and tooth.
And if there is a hole I can’t imagine it being a good feeling when she bites on a pokey hay straw or a hard pellet etc…