So I noticed two weeks ago that my rabbit had a bulgy eye. It got steadily larger over the next week, which alarmed me, so I took my bun to the vet last Thursday. The initial exam and x-rays suggested a malignant tumor behind his eye that spread to the bone. The vet also say the elongated nuclei and abnormally shaped cells, which suggested cancer. She sent the cell samples to pathology, which returned the results that the cells were white blood cells and stuff (I can’t remember all the details). But, the conclusion that my vet has come to now is that my bunny has an abscess behind his eye that has spread to the bone. I have him on Neomycin and Polymyxin B Sulphates and Dexamethasone Ophthalmic Ointment, TMS, and Metacam, currently. His eye bulging has appeared to have decreased with the week’s worth of treatment on these meds, which suggests even more an abscess.
I’ve talked with my vet and her recommended course of action is, at the very least, eye surgery. She would be the most comfortable doing the surgery with a CAT scan as a reference (with a rice tag of $1500). She’s had a very high success rate of eye surgeries with rabbits (only lost one in her many years as a vet) and instilled in me confidence that it would be a safe surgery and that they wouldn’t lose my bun on the table. I am sure that the surgery would also be very expensive, though, since my first visit about his eye was $800+. The concern with the eye surgery is the big blood vessel behind his eye. Also, there’s the possibility that the nerves that make him blink would be severed, so I’d have to give him eye drops for the rest of his little life (which I’m fine with, honestly). There’s also that chance that they would have to take the whole little eye out, which would break my heart, even though I’m sure he could still live comfortably. I’m really concerned that they would lose my rabbit on the table during the surgery; if it comes down to it, I want to euthanize him while I hold him in my arms. Even if the surgery went well, there’s the possibility that they would have to go in again with another surgery to get out more of the abscess and the associated infection.
I’m concerned with the cost, survival of surgery, the average life expectancy after his surgery(ies), and how old he already is. He is six years old, which is on the upper end of things, as I understand it. I’m fairly well off, cash-wise, but I don’t want to have to spend myself into the poor house taking care of my rabbit, especially if I only get a few more months with him. I really don’t want to lose my bunny while I’m not there holding him. Having said all that, I’m deeply attached to my baby bunny: he’s gotten me through the hardest parts of my life in his six short years. I would spend everything I had on him, if I could, but I have a family to take care of, college to pay for, and a future to anticipate. I’m looking for advice or recommendations on what to do. I’m so torn and crushed that I might lose my best friend. I’ve got an appointment coming up next week, so I’ll probably update more after that.
I’ve got the pictures of what his little eyes, both healthy and sickly, look like on Google Drive here. They are fairly bad looking pictures, so please be warned.
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