Enucleation – eye removal senior bun.

[Azerane]

It’s been a long time since I’ve posted, but since Apollo and Luna were posted on this forum when I adopted them it only feels fitting to share this next step in Luna’s story.

Luna’s eye was damaged about 2.5 years ago when she had E. cuniculi. In April last year her eye developed uveitis and she’s been on eye medication ever since to manage the pressure. A couple of days after Christmas I noticed some more changes to the eye, she seemed ok so I watched it until the following week when it had become irritated and an opaque white spot had developed. After some more meds the problems weren’t resolving and we found another issue, she has a small mass in the tissue under her eye.

Needless to say this has left us without any more options for managing the eye. We have been trying to avoid surgery, Luna is at least 9 years old, she has a mild heart murmur and severe kidney damage from E.c. she’s not a super healthy bun.

Yesterday we went to an exotic specialist who drew her blood and collected urine to test before surgery. If that checks out she’ll have her eye and as mych of the mass as possible removed on Friday.

I’m worried about surgery, recovery, how long she has after that, regrowth of the mass, and of course how Apollo will cope if she doesn’t make it, he already isn’t eating as much because she isn’t. Otherwise Apollo is doing very well, he’s still a real sweetheart 🙂

[LBJ10]

Hi Azerane! Nice to see you, although I wish it was under better circumstances. I do remember all of the problems Luna had with EC and the damage it caused. I’m actually not surprised it has come to this regarding her eye. While we would like to avoid having even a bad eye removed, sometimes these things just happen when EC is involved. I’m sorry I don’t have any real advice for you. I do hope everything goes well with the surgery. Luna is a fighter!

[DanaNM]

Parroting LBJ10, so nice to see you but def wish the circumstances were better! Luna is definitely a fighter, sending lots of good vibes for her. <3

. . . 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.  

[jerseygirl]

(((((Luna)))))

Sending some positive vibes your way and for Apollo too !

[Azerane]

Thank you so much. I apologise it’s been so long since I stopped by the forum, life is pretty busy these days.

Unfortunately we didn’t hear back on Luna’s test results today, so I have to try to keep myself sane until tomorrow morning.

Trying to remind myself that if she makes it through surgery, she’ll be so much more comfortable without that eye.

[Bam]

((((((Luna)))))

Fingers so very crossed that the surgery goes smoothly!

💗💗💗

[Azerane]

Well, good news is that Luna’s test results came back pretty good, her kidney value was outside of normal range, but not strongly, everything else looked OK. So, surgery tomorrow. 🙂

[Bam]

That is very good! 👍

[Azerane]

Much to my amazement and immense pleasure, Luna’s surgery went very well. No issues with anesthetic, the eye removed well with the mass fully encapsulated and removed withthe surrounding tissue. She’s in recovery at the moment, I have another call with the vet later to discuss whether she stays in overnight. I know it’s best for her to stay on the IV, but there won’t be anyone there to watch her so I’m a bit nervous about it. If she’s eating she’s fine to be there, but if not she’ll need to come home in case we need to go to emergency.

[Bam]

Oh, I’m glad to hear the operation went well! Fingers crossed she’ll start eating soon 🤞

 

[Azerane]

Luna started eating on her own and was declared well enough to come home. I swear I have the best buns, 15 minutes after arriving home Apollo has started grooming her. I always worry about the post-vet fight/chasing but have never had an issue with these two.

Luna’s stitched up eye looks pretty crazy with the shaved off fur etc, one of those things that looks worse than it actually is, but she seems in decent spirits and is just having a big drink as I type this followed by some more grooming, even grooming Apollo back.

I’m so amazed at how well she has handled this so far.

[Bam]

Oh, wonderful! 🐰🐰

[DanaNM]

That’s amazing news! What a relief! I’m sure she will feel much better!

. . . 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.  

[jerseygirl]

Hooray! So happy she’s back home.

I’m wondering if she immediately feels more comfortable?
The shaved face can be a shock! From what I’ve seen from others sharing about this surgery, things seem to heal up fast.

[Azerane]

Yes the appearance of the site does take some getting used to.

I think yesterday she had some pretty good pain management in place so she was really good. This morning she was still eating well etc but wasn’t keen to have me touch her or get near her and kept running away. She spent a lot of time hiding this morning (probably because I kept trying to check on her, lol). It made me concerned, and I had trouble assessing for swelling, but she settled down again by the afternoon to let me have a good look. She even let me gently pet the skin around the area. It does look like it should heal quickly because such a small area.

[Bam]

Great that she still has an appetite and lat she eventually let you pet the area. How is Apollo’s appetite now?

[LBJ10]

So glad to hear everything went well!

[Azerane]

Thanks guys. Apollo’s appetite does seem to be improving which is good, he seems a bit more keen to eat pellets again now that Luna is.

It’s Sunday night here, Luna’s surgery was Friday. She’s been doing fantastic today, eating really well, excited for pellet time, moving around a bunch. Her poop size is improving. My only concern was she urinated outside the litter tray four times today. Previously, she’s only every done that once in the entire time I’ve owned her. The first and second I was able to give her a pass on post surgery, but when I found number three and four I actually got a bit worried.

All four were done in the same area, which was by one of two hay piles that I put out on the floor while she’s been unwell. I figured why make it any harder for her then it has to be. So my first thought was that it’s because of the hay pile, however the vet did prescribe her three low doses of metacam for her post-op recovery. This concerned me and I expressed that concern, but the vet told me that with Luna’s kidney numbers and the low dose for only 3 doses would not cause any problems. So that was my concern otherwise.

After finding the fourth pee I cleaned up the hay piles, refreshed the litter tray and hay rack and changed the mats and blankets so everything was fresh. This enabled me to see if she’d be ok to use the litter tray and make it easier to notice if she still peed elsewhere. Since cleaning up the hay piles she’s used the litter tray to eat hay, pee and poop multiple times. So it seems like that’s the answer, which is a relief.

I was on the fence about giving her last metacam dose in the morning but given her urinating seems to be because of the convenient hay piles I think I’ll still give it, I don’t want her to be in pain.

I have wasted so much time going through bunny cam footage today to make sure it was Luna doing the pee. Apollo is the one that is notorious for peeing outside the box, so I had to be sure. Also in the past when he has had a seizure, sometimes he urinates, so I needed to check for that too. All up though I’m very thankful that I have a camera on the bunnies, it has given me so much insight and is especially useful for sick bunnies.

[Azerane]

Probably last update until Luna’s re-check with the vet next week.

No problems at all. Cleaning up the hay piles has made Luna 100% use the litter tray for wees and mostly for poops. She’s doing so well, the wound is looking great, happy to let me pet her and hungrier for pellets than she was prior to surgery, which is fantastic. I need to remember to weigh her tomorrow to see if she happens to be putting on weight now that she’s not on the steroid drop and her appetite is back to normal.

[LBJ10]

🙂

[jerseygirl]

Such a great outcome ☺️

[Azerane]

Some excitement this morning when I weighed Luna. Back before she had E.c her healthy weight was around 2.4kg, after E.c her healthy weight was 1.9kg, when we started her steroid eye drops last year her weight dropped again to 1.65kg. This morning after 8 days off of the steroid drops her weight was 1.85kg!! A huge achievement for Luna. Fingers crossed she can regain a little more, I’d be thrilled with 2kg.

[Bam]

Oh, lovely news! Fingers very much crossed that she keeps gaining!

[DanaNM]

That’s great news! Way to go Luna!

. . . 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.  

[LBJ10]

That’s wonderful! I’m glad things are improving for Luna.

[Azerane]

I keep meaning to update here and add in pictures, but I never renege to update when I’m on my computer.

In regards to Luna’s weight gain, I’m a bit of an idiot and remembered the numbers wrong, I think she actually weighed in at 1.68kg. I put the 8 in the wrong spot, lol.

In good news, yesterday she did actually cross the 1.8kg mark, and what a celebration that was, she’s still boney but not emaciated skin and bone, boney. She did have trouble getting into the litter tray earlier this week, so I went out and bought a tub with a low front for ease of access for her. Despite her weight gain I think her legs are always going to be a little weak from the E.c.

[DanaNM]

Keep it up Luna! Glad she’s continuing to improve. 🙂

. . . 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.  

[LBJ10]

Thank you for the update Azerane! I’m glad to hear Luna is improving.

[Author]

Messages