Lateral Ear Canal Resection

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This topic has 17sd replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 4 years, 2 months ago by DanaNM.

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- 02/16/2021 at 9:05 PM
  Bunnyph
  Participant
  26 posts
  Hello everyone 🙂
  
  My mini-lop rabbit (Ju) has developed a stubborn ear infection (outer ear for now) and we’ve tried meloxicam and antibacterial topical treatments to help him. He took an ear swab today to stain for a more specific bacteria so we can try a different anti-biotic (but we don’t have the results for it yet). The vet noticed that when they were taking the swab, Ju’s ear canals were very narrow. Even if we cure his current infection, he has a chance of getting another one over and over again in the future. I’ve already spent $2200 this year because of gut blockages and ear infections, and it’s only February an there’s more to come… I’m still a uni student, so I don’t have a proper job to be paying for all of his expenses.
  
  The vet has recommended for him to get Lateral Ear Canal Resection surgery to open up his ears a bit more and increase air flow to reduce the chance of future infections. I was wondering whether anyone else has had to do this for their bunnies because of constant ear infections. If so, how did they tolerate it, and is it worth getting the surgery? It costs around $2500 🙁
  
  Any information would be useful! Thanks in advance
- 02/17/2021 at 3:12 AM
  Hazel
  Participant
  2587 posts
  Just because there is a potential for future ear infections doesn’t necessarily mean it will become an issue. I would hold off and see what happens, he might be just fine. I think your vet is jumping the gun here, especially considering how expensive the procedure is.
- 02/17/2021 at 8:25 AM
  DanaNM
  Moderator
  9064 posts
  I’m not familiar with this procedure, but Medirabbit (a trusted source) has some information on it: http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Surgery/Ear/ear_resection.htm
  
  How many times has his ear infection recurred at this point?
  
  . . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.
- 02/17/2021 at 10:35 AM
  ergodic
  Participant
  123 posts
  If you have a lop that has ear problems, it may result in facial paralysis if you let it go. My rabbit George had done to one ear. He had a stubborn ear infection. It allowed direct access to to ear so it definitely helped getting the antibiotics. It does require extra maintenance you will probably be treating the ear daily for the rest of his life. I never found this to be an issue.
  
  It is a simpler procedure than the ablation.
  
  Have you done a CT scan or xrays? I assume $2500 is for both ears otherwise $2500 sounds a little expensive. The vet that did George’s did one ear that was infected and recommend waiting for the other. Unfortunately George passed because of different issues. All in all it improved George’s life. My one vet actually offer it for young lops as a preventative procedure since lops are so prone to the infection. If you spent $2200 already it very well may be worth it.
- 02/17/2021 at 2:51 PM
  Bunnyph
  Participant
  26 posts
  Hi Hazel, DanaNM and Ergodic,
  
  Thank you so much for responding and thanks for the link DanaNM. I was wondering whether we were jumping the gun since this is Ju’s first ear infection that we’ve come across. He’s 3 years and 3 months old. Is it better to try and clear this infection and wait to see what happens? But I’m also scared that if I do that, his next ear infection might be worse (if it reoccurs). Like Ergodic said, it might result in facial paralysis. I didn’t even know that Ju had an ear infection, as I brought him in for his annual vaccination. He seemed like his normal self, jumping around, so I was surprised when they mentioned it.
  
  The $2500 is for both ears (Australian dollars) and we’ve done an x-ray of his ear to figure out what kind of ear infection he had (outer). Ergodic, I’m so sorry to hear about George’s passing. I was wondering, how old was he when he had the surgery done to his ear and what kind of extra daily maintenance did you do for George post-surgery? Also, did you wait for the infected ear to resolve fully before doing the surgery?
  
  I’ve spent about $1300 this year because of the ear infection (which will increase, I’m sure). The other $900 was because of a gut issue 🙁 He seems to not be doing well this year. I’m considering getting a second opinion about his ears from another rabbit Savvy vet.
- 02/17/2021 at 4:01 PM
  Hazel
  Participant
  2587 posts
  Getting a second opinion is a good idea. It’s a tricky decision to make, for sure.
  
  I’m sorry he’s having a tough year so far, and you too. Hopefully things will look up soon.
- 02/17/2021 at 5:02 PM
  LBJ10
  Moderator
  17105 posts
  This is tough. Normally you hear of this being done when a bunny has had multiple, hard to treat ear infections. He’s over 3 years old and he has only had one… if it was going to be a real problem, wouldn’t have had ear infections before now? At the same time, I can see why you might be tempted to just go ahead with the surgery. After all, it has a lot of benefits. I agree with the idea of getting a second opinion.
- 02/17/2021 at 6:56 PM
  ergodic
  Participant
  123 posts
  George was six when he had it done. Like you we had no idea he had an ear infection until we did a CT scan. He later developed facial nerve paralysis on his left side. Knowing what I now know, I think I would have done it earlier.
  
  As to the extra maintenance: once a day I put drops of low concentration Aamikacin mixed in Trizedta. I was told if I noticed head tilt to stop the treatment and contact the vet.
  
  George did not like but he tolerated it.
  
  It was easy for me since George was already suffering from facial nerve paralysis when I decided to do it. Also I had two different vets from two different practices recommend it.
- 02/19/2021 at 7:00 AM
  Bunnyph
  Participant
  26 posts
  Thanks Hazel, I sure will get that second opinion.
  
  And I also did think it was strange that the vet highly recommended the surgery as Ju has only gotten his first ear infection after 3 years of age. In saying this though, I am still thinking about the surgery to prevent future infections as much as possible. I’m just worried because it’s a big surgery… what happens if he doesn’t make it? I feel like it would be my fault for making the wrong decision 🙁
  
  Thanks for the details Ergodic. I’m leaning towards getting the surgery done as a precaution. Did he hold up well after the procedure?
- 02/19/2021 at 12:49 PM
  ergodic
  Participant
  123 posts
  He did handle it pretty well, I let him stay at the vet till he was eating, which was a couple of days.
  
  He was then on Chloramphenicol for a couple of weeks.
- 02/24/2021 at 4:04 PM
  Bunnyph
  Participant
  26 posts
  Thanks ergodic.
  
  *Update*
  
  Ju had a culture and sensitivity test to find a more specific anti-biotic to treat his infection. However, they weren’t able to grow any bacteria! Not sure what this means for now. He’s currently on trimethoprim oral anti-biotic which is just another type of general medication (I think).
- 02/24/2021 at 5:56 PM
  LBJ10
  Moderator
  17105 posts
  Did they check for yeast too?
- 02/25/2021 at 4:06 PM
  ergodic
  Participant
  123 posts
  I was about to ask about a fungal culture as well. Also how long had your been off the antibiotics? If Ju was still on the antibacterial or only a short period of when they did the swab you may get weird results.
- 02/25/2021 at 4:17 PM
  Bunnyph
  Participant
  26 posts
  Hmm, I’m actually not sure whether they did it just for bacteria or for fungi too. I’ll ring up the vet and ask. Thanks for the idea. He was on anti-inflammatory meds (metacam/meloxicam) for 7 days. After that, we tried something new. We administered the topical liquid ear treatment (enroflaxacin) for 7 days. During the whole metacam/enroflacaxin time, he also had penicillin injections once a week for 3 weeks. Then we did the culture and sensitivity test.
  
  I went for the second opinion yesterday at a place who is very rabbit savvy. They classified Ju’s ear infection as relatively low grade so we’re holding off on the surgery for now. However, we might think about doing it in the future. They recommended we give a powder form to put into his ear once a day for 2 weeks (it’s already wet in the ear, so powder can make it dry which is better). We are also giving Ju penicillin injections at home every 2 days for 4-6 weeks. They taught me how to do it at the vet, but I’m feeling quite anxious about doing it in two days time…
- 02/25/2021 at 4:22 PM
  DanaNM
  Moderator
  9064 posts
  Pen injections aren’t too bad once you get the hang of them, but I was def terrified the first time I did one. I of course poked too far through and squirted penicillin all over my poor bun’s back, then had to frantically clean it up and hope that I got it all (he was fine, but woof).
  
  But then I got a pep talk and it got a lot better! It’s honestly easier than oral meds most of the time, the buns seem to barely notice it.
  
  . . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.
- 02/25/2021 at 4:27 PM
  Bunnyph
  Participant
  26 posts
  Oh really?! That’s good to hear that it gets better. I’ve also heard how common it is to squirt the pen meds all over the bun’s back. Thank gosh he was okay 🙂
  
  I think I’m just having trouble actually grabbing his fur and making the V or ‘tent’ shape. He doesn’t seem to have a lot of flesh either. Also I need to get more swift with the syringe because Ju got quite annoyed at me yesterday. He spun around in circles for a couple of minutes and thumped his feet a lot.
- 02/25/2021 at 5:28 PM
  LBJ10
  Moderator
  17105 posts
  Hmm… I would think the combined antibiotics would have taken care of it if it was a bacterial infection. Yes, there are resistant bacteria, but that is a less common scenario. I would be interested to hear if they did a culture for yeast just to make sure it wasn’t that. Yeast does take longer to culture too, so perhaps the results just aren’t back yet?
- 02/25/2021 at 6:24 PM
  DanaNM
  Moderator
  9064 posts
  I used to grab the skin over the shoulder. I usually had better luck being slightly off to one side vs. in the middle of the scruff. And it’s good to do the injection in a slightly different spot each day, because they will get scar tissue that makes it harder to poke the needle in (and increasing the risk of poking all the way through).
  
  . . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.
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