Partial Leg Amputation-Healing and leg lifting question

[PumpkinBells]

Rescued Bella from the neighborhood. She’s the sweetest bunny EVER. Loves to snuggle. She has epilepsy. Taking gabapentin for it, not so sure if it helps as she has a few seizures a month. Due to the seizures, she bit herself, had an infected foot that we couldn’t get better, had to have it amputated at the wrist. Did great with that surgery and was fine for 4 years. A few months ago she started lifting her arm up so hard every few minutes that she started falling onto her back.  We took her to the vet, and found out that she had a cyst on that amputated leg to include a hairline crack. The same vet said we needed to cut the bone back and remove the cyst.  This time she had a really bad time with the sling she was put in. It caused her to be swollen, so the vet suggested cold laser therapy to have the swelling go down. It seemed to work, wish we had just done this instead of surgery. The base of her leg started bleeding one night post surgery so we took her back to the vet for a look and the vet charged us another office visit even though she still needed checkups post surgery. We’ve been wrapping her foot ever since. It’s been a few months now, and the foot looks the same. Still no hair growing on the bottom of the amputated leg. Also, the original reason we took her to the vet was because she kept pulling that leg up and falling over. Now she’s still doing this intermittently. Some days are better than others. The vet had no idea why and couldn’t fix this problem, nor can I find any advice on the internet about why she could be doing this. If anyone has had a similar experience with their rabbit pulling their forearm back every few minutes then falling over sometimes, please reach out. Thanks.

[Bam]

I dont know if I understand you right, but sounds a bit like some sort of focal seizures? Has e cuniculi been considered? It is probably the most common cause of seizures in rabbits. Any part of the brain  can be affected by e cuniculi, not just the balance organs.

Thank you for rescuing Bella! 💚🐰

[PumpkinBells]

Thanks for your response. Yes, she was diagnosed with e cuniculi. We gave her meds for that also after the blood work showed it. Never thought it could be from the brain like that it totally makes sense. Thanks for the clarity. Now we just still have to get her stump healed. Shes such a sweet precious soul we wish she didn’t have all these complications as she doesn’t deserve it.

[Bam]

Ec can cause microscopic lesions in the brain tissue. When the active infection has been cleared, the body will try to heal the lesions, but scarring can form. All this can interfere with nerve signalling. Hopefully it will go away with more healing time. Great that you’ve had her treated for ec! Since ec meds never completely eradicate the parasite from the body, it’s good to keep a rather close eye in order to catch any relapse early.

I think cold laser could be a good idea to continue with, for wound healing. Is the wound still open? Cold laser should not be used on infected wounds.

Bella has had bad luck with her health, but she was certainly very lucky that you found her and rescued her!

[PumpkinBells]

We used the cold laser on her open wound after the stitches came out for a bit, and we’re wondering if that might be why she’s not growing any hair back on the bottom. It came back all around the leg. The wound isn’t open. I could post a pic but don’t want to scare anyone at the sight of it.

[Bam]

Cold laser treatment for wound healing should not affect hair growth. I had a dog that got 20 cold laser treatments for a back problem, her fur was not affected at all, even though her fur was very dark.

Does your bun have dark fur? Dark fur and dark skin are a lot more sensitive to laser. Darker animals need a lower setting, or the treatment can be painful. (My vet’s laser equipment had different settings for light fur resp dark fur).

Red LED light can also be used for wound healing. That would not affect hair growth.

The hair not growing back could be due to impaired blood circulation in the wound area. Light therapy could help improve that.

[PumpkinBells]

Does anyone know of something herbal I can give Bella for another e cunniculi flare up until her vet comes back from vacation on Thursday? I’ve been searching everywhere. Thanks.

[LBJ10]

No, but a NSAID would at least help with any internal inflammation.

[Bam]

As LBJ says, if you have metacam (meloxicam), you can give that. A lot of the symptoms that ec causes are believed to come from tissue inflammation. The ec parasites multiply inside the cells until they get so many that the cell bursts, and the body reacts with inflammation. This  inflammatory response can be very powerful. NSAIDs like metacam inhibit inflammation.

I know that a few of our “old” members from Asia (India, Malaysia) have been prescribed milk thistle (silybum marianum) supplements for their ec buns, in combination with Panacur (fenbendazole). In those countries, herbal remedies are very common in veterinary medicine. Milk thistle is primarily thought to help liver (and kidney) function.

[PumpkinBells]

Thank you soo much for  your replies. We ended up having to find a new vet that could see her asap. Got her on Panacur for 1 month along with 5 more days of Meloxicam. The vet said some bunnies just live with their limb wrapped unfortunately. He did say colloidial siver was good to use on it. We’re putting it on her one front foot pads now, too as two of them look a little sore. 🙁 Hoping she bounces back. 😥

[Bam]

I’m glad you managed to get her the appropriate meds! It’s never easy to find a good vet during holidays.

Silver is a common ingredient in wound care ointments. Fingers crossed it will help her heal!

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