Update on Max’s lump biopsy!

[3 buns mom]

Two weeks ago, my 7 y.o. dwarf came down with bloat. Here is the story I posted:

Saturday morning, my 7 year old rabbit didn’t want to eat, nor did he want his favorite treat. He just sat in the corner of the room in a hunched position. I knew something was up and it wasn’t good. I was at a loss of what to do. I am not currently working and did not have money to take him to the e.r. vet. So what I did for the next few days was give every effort to save his life. Fortunately, I had a lot of supplies on hand from my other rabbit’s illnesses (bladder sludge, dental surgery, and a virus) I gave him sub q fluids, simethicone (pediatric gas-x), metacam (pain meds), probiotics, critical care, and massaged his belly. He wasn’t eating, drinking, pooping or peeing the whole weekend.

After spending almost 3 days nursing him, and no sleep on my end, and no improvement on his end, I took him to the vet Monday morning. X-rays showed a very full stomach, but empty intestines. He had a complete blockage and was in critical condition. Options were surgery or euthanasia. I couldn’t afford the surgery, so was leaning towards euthanasia….but at that moment when I was talking to the doctor, Gus started to eat his hay in the carrier. I was shocked and took it as a sign that he wasn’t ready to go….so I decided to take him home, continue doing what I was doing and hope for the best. If he was willing to fight, then I was too!

So I continued giving him sub q fluids, pain meds, gas meds, probiotics, and added pineapple juice. I no longer had to syringe feed him since he was now eating on his own. Monday night at 2:30 in the morning, he ran for his favorite treat! I was in shock, but nothing prepared me for what happened next….HE PEED and when I went over to him, I noticed little fecal pellets!!!! I was ecstatic…  You’re all probably going to think I am insane when I tell you I picked up a fecal pellet and woke everyone up to show them.   I called the vets office right when they opened on Tuesday morning to tell them, but doc was with a patient. I told the receptionist to let him know the good news. He called me soon after. He told me the whole office was in shock but very happy.  It’s now Wednesday morning, and he is doing great. All seems to be well now. His poop is normal once again, but I am still treating him just to be on the safe side. I am soooo glad I took his eating at the vet’s office as a sign and went with my gut!!!! Yay Gus!

 

So this weekend, my bunny Max is going through the same issue! Although Max is still eating, everything else is the same. His stomach is soooo bloated. He is barely moving. I am doing all I did for Gus. I will probably bring him in tomorrow if no improvement. I have had all 3 buns for over 3 years and never had this happen before….And finally I get to my question….Can it be just a coincidence or a possible disease, parasite, or other illness causing this to happen to 2 of my buns in such a short time?

[Tipsy Bunny]

did they get into anything foreign? chewing and eating something that caused the blocking? I would check around your bunny’s area to see if there is any chew marks in places that they shouldnt be chewing or items that arent theirs to chew. maybe your first rabbit ate something to cause the blockage and your second rabbit followed suit thinking if he ate it maybe its fun too… who knows what happened.

Also another thing, I am sure you are doing this, but always have a thermometer handy with you to check their temp at alllll times!

[3 buns mom]

They are free roaming 100%, but they stick to the living room/kitchen area. I have gone through it inch by inch to see if there is anything that they could have gotten into and I don’t see anything. Their diet is the same, no change there. The only difference is I got a guinea pig a few weeks ago, but he got a clean bill of health. But I still wonder if they could have caught something from him. He is caged, but I do let out to roam for a few hours every evening. I am starting to wonder if something is stressing them, like the new guinea pig. Although, they ignore him and can care less, even when the guinea pig sniffs them.

Max has started pooping a little tonight, but he is still uncomfortable. The poop is very minimal, but it’s a start. I am going to give him more meds and fluids in a few. I hate doing it because that stresses him out, but it needs to be done.

As for checking his temp, no I haven’t done that. I am a little nervous doing it because I never have and have never been shown how to. I have been feeling his ears, and they feel normal for him. (I know that’s not the accurate way to check his temp, but I hope it’s enough) I bought him a water bottle and have it near him at all times. He hasn’t moved much, so that is working ok.

Thanks for your reply. I think I will research checking his temp.

[Tipsy Bunny]

Here is a great post from another forum on taking rabbit’s rectal temperature.
http://www.bunspace.com/forum/thread?tid=10977&posts_tgp_no=last
Just reading different ailments and illnesses from many articles and them consistently saying that rabbit temp decreases as the illness progressively gets worse, so I figured, it could help track how your rabbit’s condition is.

EDIT:  I just thought of something.  The post mentions the thermometer potentially breaking if the rabbit kicks or moves sporadically, but those are plastic thermometers.  There are rubberized ones that I use for the 6 month old horses I work with… they move around a lot so you want a thermometer that moves too.

 

Here is one

http://www.kvsupply.com/KVVet/productr.asp?pf_id=81212&0=dept.asp%2Cdept_id%3D9000%26Tree%3D%2CComplete%20Catalog&1=dept.asp%2Cdept_id%3D10000%26Tree%3D%2CDog&2=dept.asp%2Cdept_id%3D11200%26Tree%3D%2CFirst%20Aid%20%2f%20Medical%20Equipment&3=dept.asp%2Cdept_id%3D11&refcode=SHOPZILA&URLCheck=1

[3 buns mom]

Can it get any worse? I was giving him his nightly meds and noticed he has a swollen lumpy area around his elbow! I am sooooo worried, but I really can’t afford to take him to the er vet tonight. I don’t believe they are all that familiar with rabbits there anyway. He is always squirmy when I am giving his meds and I wonder if I hurt him when he was struggling with me earlier. I will never forgive myself if it was my fault. I can’t stop crying. I plan to take him to his usual vet tomorrow morning. I already sent an email explaining the situation to her so she will get it first thing in the morning and will hopefully be able to get him in asap. It doesn’t seem to be affecting his hopping, although he isn’t moving around much anyhow.

[Tipsy Bunny]

I read an article earlier of someone’s bun getting an extreme case of gas bloat and their bun went from a temp of 99.4 to a 97.7 in a matter of hours. This isnt meant to scare you, I am sure this will not happen with your bun with all that you are doing, but just shows what can happen in an extreme case. With the young horses, we check their temperatures every few days to make sure everything is a-ok, they never show us so the only way to find out is to check temp.

does he have gurgling noises in his tummy? Is his belly tight?

No worries, just take a deep breath, everything will be fine you are doing all you can and your bun understands, you are doing a great job

[3 buns mom]

Thanks for the link. It seems easy enough. He is actually starting to poop more and they are getting bigger!  As soon as I finished reading the article on taking his temp, I went over to check on him, he jumped up and ran across the room, dropping poop along the way. He ran to his food bowl and is chowing down like crazy. He also drank a good amount of water. It was almost like he was saying, “mom, I am ok, please don’t stick that thing up my butt.”  His belly was hard the last time I checked several hours ago and it does look distended still (he is a big boy to begin with) and I am not hearing anything from his belly. I am trying to leave him alone for the rest of the night. I am watching from afar. He gets so stressed if I so much as come near him now. It going to take some time for him to trust me after this.  He is laying down now and isn’t hunched up anymore. He looks more comfortable. Maybe he released some gas?

 

[3 buns mom]

Yup, he must be feeling better, here is a pic of him a few minutes ago….lol

 

 

 

[Tipsy Bunny]

aww that poor belly! That is great to hear though, I knew he would pull through! Yeah, I am betting the gas has broken up and broke through. Very good sign that you dont hear anything from his belly! Even better that he is moving around and starting to feel a little better. I am sure he will be his same old self when all this is all over. Just like us, we dont want to be fooled around with when we are sick, so when he feels sick he is prolly thinking, No! I dont want medicine, I dont want to be touched, I just want to slouch and sleep! haha. He will be himself again I am sure of it

BTW, that cat scratcher is a genius idea!!!

[3 buns mom]

Max went to the vet today. I found a new vet whom I love. She is 1 of only 13 vets in the WORLD that are board certified in exotics. So as for the GI stasis issue, that started resolving itself last night and she said his stomach felt good…no impaction. As for the lump in his front leg she aspirated it and it was just sub q fluids that are taking a long time to disperse. No puss came out. Yay.

He was diagnosed with pasteurella about a year ago. Every now and then, it flares up. He came down with pneumonia last year too because of the pasteurella. He seems to have fluid in his lungs often that require antibiotics. So because of this, he is high risk for any type of surgery. So I am happy that the lump is not an abscess, so no surgery.

I also posted in one of the forums here about his chin puss issue. Another long term problem. And the previous 2 vets I took him to did not diagnose him right. He has dental disease. His roots are growing down into chin. She was able to feel it with her hands! She believes the upper ones are growing up into his cheeks, and could be the cause of his eye and nose discharge as well. I had his teeth filed down this past summer too! If this was diagnosed early on, it could have been prevented or at least maintained before it got to this point. He is back on penicillin injections every day. I prefer to give him meds this way. He hates oral meds after all he has been through, he hates my hands near his mouth or chin. I have the scars to prove it! lol  He has been on antibiotics for almost all of the past year and will probably have to continue this path for life. Once he goes off antibiotics, everything acts up again within a month or two.

She told me NO PELLETS for any rabbits! It causes all these teeth problems because of the way they chew it. Unlike hay where they chew in a circular motion which grinds down teeth. She also told me that rabbits were not initially intended to be indoors. They were once wild, out in the sun. So because our rabbits get no sun, they lack vitamin D which is needed for their bones and teeth. She suggests that in the summer time, I let them out in a pen, supervised a few times a week for a couple of hours each time. And make sure they get plenty of veggies.

Once he is feeling better from this, she wants to take skull x-rays to see exactly what is going on with his teeth and roots. I was very impressed with her and her knowledge. I really felt confident in her findings and when I got home, I took a nap, finally able to sleep more at ease.

[3 buns mom]

Well things are not looking so good for Max. The lump is still there and is a solid hard lump now. Whereas before it felt like his leg was swollen, so we thought it was the fluids and hoped for the best. At the time, the vet wanted to do the least invasive thing considering what it looked like and what came out when she aspirated it. 

The vet has been away since Monday evening, but has been checking in with the hopital. She got word of Max’s condition getting worse, and has scheduled him for surgery to have it removed and sent out for testing.  This poor guy has been through soooo much the past year and I feel really bad to have to put him through this, but I have no choice. I can tell it is painful and/or uncomfortable and know it needs to be done. Like I mentioned before, he is high risk, so surgery itself is going to one obstacle….then to wait and see what the biopsy on the lump shows. I don’t even want to think about it being cancer, but I have to prepare myself for that possibility.

Maxie is my baby and I will do whatever it takes and whatever is best for him!

 

[Sarita]

Vibes for Max.

[3 buns mom]

Thank you Sarita!

[bunnyfriend]

Awhhhh poor bunny  ((((healing vibes for Max)))) I hope he starts feeling better very soon. He’s adorable!

[3 buns mom]

Well tomorrow’s the day. Max goes for surgery. Doctor called me today to go over everything and let me know her concerns of his high risk status. I am a nervous wreck. But we have no choice. The abscess must be removed….All I can say, she is the best around, so I have confidence in her skills..It’s his health issues that are going to be the problem. I just hope Max makes it through the surgery. Please send some vibes his way!

[bunnyfriend]

Good luck! I hope everything goes well and that Max has a quick recovery.

[LittlePuffyTail]

(((((((MAX)))))))))

[Sarita]

Vibes for Max

[3 buns mom]

Max made it through the surgery.  His pre-surgical bloodwork showed he is anemic and his protein was low across the board. She was more concerned doing the surgery, so we decided to be conservative. Because of his lack of protein, his healing process would be really long. She couldn’t understand why it was so low, but guessed maybe it was because he was still recovering from the GI Stasis. As for the anemia, she was expecting the bloodwork to show kidney failure, but his kidneys were fine. She wants to run the bloodwork again in a month.

Now as for the surgery, well it was great to finally find a doctor that is able to intubate rabbits, because it was the extra precaution he needed with his lung problems. Unfortunalely, the lump was not an abscess. It was more of a clearish, bloodtinged liquid and a ran a good length of his leg, attached to his muscle and tissue. So she wasn’t able to get it all out due to the location and not wanted to damage muscle, tissue, and nerves. She got enough out to send out to biopsy. She is thinking that it may be a tumor or some funky bacterial infection. The wait for the results is going to kill me. Won’t find out until end of next week.

She also did his dental x-rays finally to see if that had anything to do with his chin issues, and wow, they showed alot. She was only able to get 2 views because he was starting to wake up…but what she did see was at least 5 abscesses. She also said his teeth are all twisted in their sockets and are in really bad shape. It’s amazing that he is still eating as much as ever. Did I mention he is overweight? lol So we figured as long as he is eating and they don’t seem to be bothering him, lets leave them be for the time being and wait for the biopsy results and deal with that first. She was worried if she pulled a tooth or two, that it would make them all angry and cause him more problems.

He will be on Penicillin injections for life. We’ll continue with the daily injections for now, and then maybe we can go to every 2 days.

He came home with a cone on, but can’t eat with it….so I (with their suggestion) took it off and cut up a shirt and figured out a way to keep his leg and side covered. Worried about him chewing at the stitches. I am also worried about the other rabbits chewing at them too.

So that’s Max’s surgery update for today. I am exhausted and can barely keep my eyes open any longer. I apologize if any of this sounds gibberish. I only slept for 3 hours last night, worrying about my Max. Thanks for the vibes everyone!

Oh yeah, also wanted to ask if anyone has ideas for what I can do instead of the cut up shirt I have on him now…It’s not that durable. I can’t use bandages because the stitches go too far up the thigh area.

[bunnyfriend]

Max is so lucky to have you doing all that you are for him! Poor bunny, hopefully he’ll start feeling better as he’s healed.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

{{{{Vibes}}}}} For Max!!! WOW Poor guy! So lucky to have you and such great vet care!

[LittlePuffyTail]

I’m glad he made it through okay. That’s such a scary situation to go through.

((((Vibes for his continued recovery and future good health)))))

[3 buns mom]

Thanks everyone! He is doing good today. Hasn’t affected his eating and his desire to groom himself. He isn’t moving around much, but that is expected. I bought a long-sleeved baby onesie and cut one sleeve and the bottom half off where it would normally snap under a baby’s bottom. It works perfectly. It covers all needed areas. I left the left sleeve on. The incision goes up his front left leg to his shoulder, then down towards his stomach so that it ends at his chest area. He is more comfortable than with the cone on, and it isn’t restricting him or the incision at all. I will have to get a picture to post, he looks so cute.

[bunnyfriend]

EEk! Definitely want to see a pic

[3 buns mom]

Here is Max in his onesie!  So cute! My camera phone is awful. It isn’t good with colors. It always gives a greenish or yellowish hue to things. Max doesn’t look yellow at all…either that or my camera sees things that I don’t…lol

 

 

 

 

[Roberta]

Big <>. Poor baby has gone through so much.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Awww…what a little cutie in his onesie. I really want to give him a big kiss. You will have to do that for me!

[BinkyBunny]

I’m getting caught up on this whole thread. Wow — Huge hugs and healing vibes for Max.

[3 buns mom]

Max is doing wonderful. You’d never knew he had surgery. He is really back to himself. He is running, and even scratching at the blankets trying to dig or bunch them up. So it seems his leg is feeling good and isn’t bothering him that much. He is out of the onesie, and his incision looks good. Swelling is going down. Just waiting on his biopsy results. Hoping for good news!

Thanks everyone for your well wishes. They mean a lot. I have a lot of animals, 6 cats, 3 rabbits, and a guinea pig. And I love them all equally, but you know how you have special bonds with certain pets? Well Max is one of those pets. He is such a strong boy and a fighter. It’s so hard not to spoil him after all he’s been through.

[LittlePuffyTail]

I’m very glad to hear he is doing so well.

[3 buns mom]

So Max went for his follow up visit to have his sutures removed. And we got some good and bad news. First off, the preliminary results of the biopsy on his lump is that it’s NOT cancer. It’s some freakish non-typical abscess. The bad news is, the lump is growing back, but it looks more like a typical abscess now, with the thick white puss. So he will have to go back in for surgery again next week. More good news – it will be easier to take care of this time around and she is not going to charge me! More bad news – the abscess started draining through the healed incision and scabbed up, and Max decided to chew the scab off and partially ripped open the incision. It is not bleeding anymore and doesn’t look too bad. It is actually helped the abscess drain some, but I have to keep it clean. Other than all that, he is doing great and acting like himself!

[LittlePuffyTail]

I’m very glad to hear it’s not cancer. Poor guy having to go back in for another surgery though.

((((((Healing Vibes for Max))))))))))

[Hannah]

Woo no cancer! Too bad he needs more surgery again, but I guess this is pretty close to the best possible outcome, right? Vibes!!!

[Dee]

I just read this whole thread and found myself literally on the edge of my seat reading through it, praying that everything would turn out well. 3 Buns Mom, you are one dedicated rabbit mommy! It takes so much courage, patience and endurance to care for a bunny through even a short illness- I can’t believe all you’ve been through! And your bunnies are beautiful- I love the pic of them together, and of course Max in his onesie! That was too adorable, although he probably wasn’t amused.
Thank God Max doesn’t have cancer. I’m sorry that he isn’t completely better, but this sounds manageable now. I’m so happy that he’s OK!

[BinkyBunny]

yay for no cancer! Hopefully, this next surgery will help nip it in the bud. Abscesses around the jaw area though can really be tricky and it’s not uncommon for them to return. What a wonderful vet though you have!!

Sending easy surgery and post healing vibes!

[Author]

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