Just got back from spay pre-op examination with concerns+qs..

[Janii]

Good morning or evening,

I just brought Corrin back from her examination at a vet just out of town here. When we first got in, there was a dog just roaming around and as I was filling out paperwork…a cat jumped right on top of my paper. They have dog and a cat roaming around the office. Secondly, as soon as we got into the examination room, the vet asked us to put Corrin onto the scale and then onto his lap on an old looking towel as he sat on the chair where he squished her between his legs (she was on her back) to listen to her heart and look at her stomach and underside. When he was done checking these, he wrapped the towel around her in a bundle and handed her to me upside down still.

The vet asked what we fed her and mentioned that her stomach felt “doughy”? and to increase hay and vegetable intake. He then sent the vet tech in to go over the surgery details with us. She mentioned that bloodwork is optional with a fee. Is bloodwork supposed to be done no matter what? My main concern is that she will have to be dropped off at 7am. We call in at 2pm to see how the surgery went. Corrin is to stay there over night until 5pm the next day. Is it just me or is that a long time to be away from home, with animals roaming around? 

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

[joea64]

Is there another vet with experience with rabbits near you that you can get a second opinion from? Some of the things you described (the way he was handling your Corrin, the animals roaming around) bother me; on the other hand, you should always have bloodwork done on your bun as part of any wellness checkup or before a procedure of some sort.

[Wick & Fable]

I second joea64. Don’t necessarily feel committed to doing the spay with this vet even though you had this appointment. If you do, keep some things in mind for yourself:

1) Pain meds after the spay is needed, not optional.
2) DO NOT FAST your rabbit before the operation— she should eat.

— As for the bloodwork, this is done to ensure the rabbit’s liver and such are healthy enough to handle the anesthesia and operation. Many vets do it as a requirement, but some do make it optional. This is a call you’ll need to make. The safer bet is probably to do the bloodwork, though if your vet is inexperienced with rabbit operations, it may cause more strain on your rabbit.

…. Do some research though to find an -exotic- vet if possible. This vet does not seem too familiar or experienced with rabbits if he needs to trance (-shutters-) a rabbit to do a general check. Trancing should only be done for emergencies, not as a regular part of an exam.

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.

[Mikey]

Something seems off with the vet. With all of my vet visits with my three bunnies, the vet has never put them on their backs to check them. Its relatively easy to check them while theyre standing normally, or even while youre holding them. The two times a towel was needed, we were given an obviously clean new towel and were told to keep it afterwards.

Some vets do blood work no matter what and include it in the cost of the spays/neuters, but not all do. Some recommend you do blood work, but still have you pay for it. Staying over night would be a huge “No” from me, unless something went wrong during or after surgery. Its a far too stressful environment for a scared bun who just got out of surgery.

[joea64]

Following up on the posts from Wick and Mikey, who know more about these things than I, I think it’s pretty clear that you need to seek out a second opinion from a vet that you can verify to be experienced in rabbit medicine, if at all possible. It won’t hurt Corrin to wait a few more days for her operation; her safety is paramount and my instincts are telling me this vet isn’t the best one.

[Janii]

Thank you everyone for your input. I have called a vet clinic that is in town, that means the operation will cost about $500 vs. $300 but this vet had everything from the blood work to ecg monitoring and most importantly pain meds to take home with her the day of (about 5 days worth). I am willing to pay the money for her well being so I have decided to follow through with the new vet. I forgot to mention that the vet from this morning only provided an antibiotic shot and a pain reliever shot before leaving the office. *I wish I took a picture of a towel that he used to show you.

Thanks to everyone again.

[joea64]

Good! It’s worth paying extra to make sure that something as important as this is done right with the least amount of risk possible. It’s particularly good that the package includes same-day release with pain meds. I’m assuming this new vet has experience with treating rabbits?

[Janii]

Yes, the vet tech on the phone insisted that he was the only vet that handled Corrin and made sure to by making the appointment times work for us. They are definitely rabbit savvy as she made points about a low stress environment that they will be providing away from any other animals post surgery as well as the details of the pre and postop exams.

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