Post op stitches picture and questions

[Alisha]

***update:

She has been sitting in a weird position the past while: https://ibb.co/Twk1tGS

Is this simply a post spay pain position? It’s a mess because she had a digging fit before this… but I put the pillow there in case it would help her feel more comfortable and she did loaf on it for a little while but now she’s doing this. She’s holding herself up with her arms and resting the rest of her lower half onto the pillow and not moving much. Please tell me this is just normal. She’s taking pain meds but she’s still grinding her teeth like crazy on and off

Picture of Luna’s stitches

(post spay)

^^ Does this look like it’s falling apart or anything? The bottom looks really closed up but the top looks kinda.. like it’s opening? I am not sure, I haven’t seen it before this. Also since these are staples, how does that work? Do I get them removed after a certain point? Do they dissolve? Fall out? If you’re confused as to why it’s such a huge opening, I have another post in this section named “Something bad happened today” explaining everything. 

Any extra advice would be great thank you.

[Doodler]

I am so glad she’s home! That poor girl. It doesn’t look like it is falling apart necessarily to me but it’s hard to tell if something is going on in the middle. It almost looks like they stapled it with the skin in a bad position. It could be just her stomach in a funny position in the picture. Unless there has been a development of dissolvable staples that I am not aware of she will have to have them removed. I am surprised they didn’t give you any after care instructions about that. The opening is much larger than my doe and even my dog had when they were spayed but this could have been due to the complications.

I have had a ferret that had staples and I myself had some and it’s not too bad of a removal but I am sure it can be stressful for a bun. Normally they’ll just snip the middle and then take out each side of the staple. I would just keep an eye on the ends to make sure they aren’t loosing out of the skin too much.

[JLH]

wow! what kind of doctor did you take her to? the staples will have to be removed by the doctor. my doctor used internal stitching as she said a bun will try and pull any foreign object out which would cause her to open the wound. I don’t mean to alarm you but I wouldn’t like that on my bun, but I will say it does not look like it is opening, it looks fine except that they are staples.

[Dface]

First off they don’t look like they are opening so try not to freak out about that.
I am going to say you need to find a different vet, whoever put staples in a rabbit is not a rabbit savvy vet (despite what they’ve led you to believe) i know they claim to be the exotic specialist in your state, but im actually going to say you might be able to find a non exotic vet who is less dodgy than this one – from your last post and now seeing this I think they are the least professional set up Ive ever heard of.
Im so sorry you’re goinng through this.

[Doodler]

I would also be looking for another vet immediately.

I will give the vet some benefit of the doubt in regards to the staples. The Merck Veterinary Manual does state that rabbits tolerate staples. Clearly things went wrong and there might have been a reason they used them.

I know ferrets and rabbits are different but the ferret I had mentioned had surgery for an adrenal tumor and the vet used sutures. These sutures opened up late at night. I’ll spare you from what I saw but will say I had to go to the emergency vet and pay more than the original surgery to have things fixed. They ended up using staples as well and she healed just fine. I only mention this because even though I agree staples are less than ideal clearly there are times where I’m sure all of us would prefer staples over something far worse happening. Having said that I would be extremely upset if my rabbit came home looking like that. I only hope there is a valid reason.

The clinic turning off their phones alone would be enough for me to go elsewhere in a heartbeat.

Please keep us posted on how she is doing!

[Bam]

Staples can be used in buns as Doodles says, and there are sutures inside her as well. I’d still try to find another vet. There are several things about this story that makes me not like these vets.

The wound itself looks good. Look out for redness, swelling and, in particular seepage. Also try to smell the wound when you check it, infected wounds can have a foul odour. Is she on antibiotics?

If she seems to be occupying herself with the wound, you may have to put a cone on her for when you cant be there to monitor her. Too much interest in a wound can also be due to insufficient pain relief, but as has been stated, rabbits do have a tendency to want to remove foreign objects from their bodies, like casts and bandages or stitches, so keep a close eye.

[Alisha]

I’m very unhappy with the way the surgery went. I wanted a certain doctor I found online but she moved out of state. There was really no other option than just vets who will consider doing spay on rabbits but aren’t really specially trained for it. This clinic does rabbits constantly so I went here. All I care about really is that she’s alive but she’s not eating or drinking and I’m going to go buy a syringe big enough for critical care and maybe a heating pad? she doesn’t seem cold but she also won’t leave her litter box so maybe she is.

She’s on a pain killer and an antibiotic I believe. Metacam and Orbax

She’s been licking around her tummy but I don’t think she wants to touch the wound really for now at least

[Alisha]

I know she doesn’t feel well at all because I was magically able to burrito her and take her out of her condo (I blocked off everything into a smaller area to minimize her exercise) and she let me hold her in my lap. She normally only lets this happen if she chose to on her own, I’m just surprised she let me hold her in mid air but I had to get the meds in her somehow.

[Alisha]

She has been sitting in a weird position the past while: https://ibb.co/Twk1tGS

Is this simply a post spay pain position? It’s a mess because she had a digging fit before this… but I put the pillow there in case it would help her feel more comfortable and she did loaf on it for a little while but now she’s doing this. She’s holding herself up with her arms and resting the rest of her lower half onto the pillow and not moving much. Please tell me this is just normal. She’s taking pain meds but she’s still grinding her teeth like crazy on and off

[FlemishDad]

That doesn’t look all that odd a position to me. It’s basically a loaf plus a little bit of hunch. ((((Luna))))

[Q8bunny]

Ok, I just finished catching up on your other related threads. First reaction… 5hit! It sounds to me like a series of unfortunate events.

To be honest, though, given that this is the only/main clinic in your area that deals with exotics/buns on a regular basis, I wouldn’t necessarily stop frequenting it. I also doubt your bun’s physical state caused the problem. I think the vet simply nicked a blood vessel and she’s trying to shift the magnitude of that rather than admit that she made a mistake (which, to be fair, if you’ve ever seen a bunny spay in person, is crazy easy to do – everything in there is so tiny and compressed into such a small space!)

From the pictures, the incison looks good – staples might have been an unfortunate necessity, and they stapled from the two ends toward the center, hence the weird bunching there (same principle as in sewing).

If Luna lost quite a bit of blood, she would naturally feel poorly for some time. I would try to compensate by ensuring lots of fresh air (but no drafts), CriticalCare feedings, and hydration.

And, of course, no exertion, regular pain meds, and close observation until full recovery.

You’re a good bun mom. You love your floof and did everything in your powers to provide her with the best care you could. She needs you to not beat yourself up because she’ll sense your stress. Just continue monitoring her, caring for her, and loving her.

I’m rooting for you guys. ((((((Luna))))))

[Alisha]

Thank you guys. She’s actually doing really well I think. She’s much stronger and she’s been drinking water from her bowl like crazy and also munching on some hay here and there If she doesn’t start eating some greens soon, I might have to give her critical care again but she hates it more than the medication for some reason. Maybe the thick texture, I don’t know but I’m thinking since she’s at least eating some hay she’ll be good for a day or two? She had a freeze dried banana at one point. She’s getting there. and she seems to be in less pain and I’m getting better at giving her the meds haha yeah sorry about all the posts. So much to read

[Bam]

So glad to hear shes starting to feel better!

Many buns hate Critical Care. The apple banana variety is often better tolerated than the original anise flavour. It’s good that shes eating hay, but you have to keep an eye on her poop. If her poop is small and low in numbers, I’d supplement with some CC unless she starts to eat greens.

[Alisha]

It even is the apple banana flavor. I thought maybe she’d like it but meh oh well haha. Yeah I’m looking out for that too. She’s been eating her poop so I’m not entirely sure how much she’s pooping haha I’m still watching. If she doesn’t eat today I’ll have to try some CC later. Her incision is looking good as well. It actually looks a little less red and puffy so that’s good.

[Alisha]

Update: SHE’S EATING GREENS! yay

[Bam]

Yay for eating greens!!!

Its believed that buns eat their fecal poop when they feel the have a need for fibre. So it’s rather a good sign, she knows what she needs ?

[Doodler]

Yay!! I am so glad Luna is doing better. Keep up the great work!!

[Q8bunny]

Great update!

[Author]

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