Boople has Liver Lobe Torsion – surgery today

[Booplesnoot]

Boople is undergoing surgery this afternoon for Liver Lobe Torsion. 

Yesterday morning he didn’t want to leave his cage, and had no interest in eating or drinking. No poops. Figured GI stasis had begun and I took him in. I am so glad I did. His cell/enzyme counts pointed to LLT and an ultrasound confirmed it.  I’m still in shock as I write this.
So little is known about LLT in bunnies – it’s very rare and seems to be more common in lops and white bunnies. No one knows what causes it or how it happens. He could have been like this for a while and it finally caught up to him, or it could have happened overnight. It presents the same way every time: one day the bun is running and playing and eating like a horse; the next day they’re in stasis and going down fast with no visible blockage. 

Please keep Boople in your thoughts and prayers today…his surgery will be especially tricky because there is an abnormally large blood vessel right next to the torsed lobe. It’s possible that it’s swollen from pressure being put on it. If it gets nicked or if it ruptures he could bleed out and die. 🙁

I am very nervous and anxious for my little bun. He is on a handfed syringe diet and he is receiving fluids and pain meds via IV. I spent some time with him this afternoon and brought his blankie and stufftie for him to snuggle… He’s just about as stoned as a little boy bunny can be, and he’s a little puffy (from fluids, I think), but he knew I was there, and he is in very good hands.

[MiNinoJack]

Good luck to you and Boople!!! Poor bunny sending prayers your way that you both get through this.

So sorry ((((Boople))))

[Mikey]

Im so sorry you both are going through this. He is in good hands, so im sure they will take care of him well during the surgery. When will you get an update about the surgery being over? (((healing vibes)))

[Booplesnoot]

Thanks, folks. They called me to tell me he was premedicated and about to go into surgery, and to remind me that there was a very real chance that he would not survive the surgery. 🙁 I gave them permission to do CPR/resuscitate if need be. I was told I can call anytime for an update, but they would call me when it was all done. So…it’s a candle-lighting, prayer-saying, hurry-up-and-wait situation.
I’m trying to maintain positive thoughts, but also preparing myself for the worst…Gaaahhhhh, this sucks.

[Mikey]

Stay strong Boople!

[jerseygirl]

Oh wow, how scary! Sounds like the vets are on the ball to have figured out what was going on.

Mega {{{{{Vibes}}}}} for Boople !

[Q8bunny]

No no no no no! Poor darling Sir Booplesnoot…
Sir Tootsalot and I are sending him heaps and heaps of love and good vibes.
(((((bounce back quickly Boople)))))

[Love4Bunny]

Oh man, that is very sad. Praying for a successful surgery for Boople. Sir Crankypants and I also send our thoughts and wishes to you both. I can only imagine how unsettling it is to have to wait and hope for Boop.
(((Hugs)))

[Bam]

(((((Boople)))))

[Booplesnoot]

Thank you for the healing thoughts from you folks and your buns!

I am happy to report that Sir Boople made it through surgery with minimal bleeding, and a biopsy of his torsed lobe as well as his healthy liver are off to the lab. Bunny Doc reports that he is brighter today and eagerly ate his Critical Care, and even made a few poops. His gut is still quieter than they’d like, but his temp has stabilized and he may be able to come home this evening! I’m so relieved… What a scary experience!

If this has taught me one thing, it’s to take your bun in if you even SUSPECT stasis. Worst case scenario is a well-bunny visit fee if nothing is wrong, but I shudder to think what would have happened to Boople if I had waited any longer to take him in. Truthfully, 12 hours would have been too late for him. He was on the way out after six.

I’m still so confounded by the whole thing… I wonder how long he’s been like this. It would certainly explain the lack of binkies. I wouldn’t want to do a jump-twist with a torsed liver!

[Azerane]

That is fantastic news! What a very lucky bunny and I’m so glad that the surgery went well. Hope you can bring him home soon.

I was always over-cautious with Bandit’s stasis issues, better to be safe about and have the vet think what a horribly caring person you are than risk leaving it too late.

[MiNinoJack]

Yay!!! That is such good news!

[Q8bunny]

Thank goodness! I’m so relieved to hear that he’s jousting his way out of the woods like the fabulous bunny knight that he is.
(((((continued healing vibes for dear Boople)))))

[Love4Bunny]

That’s great to hear about Boople! Hope he recovers fast, and glad to hear he pooped and ate afterward.

[Bam]

Continued healing-vibes for ((((((Boople))))))

[LittlePuffyTail]

((((Speedy Healing Vibes))))) Poor little Boople….

[Jessica]

i hope Boople heals quickly, Flopsy and i are sending healing and positive vibes to you guys.

[LBJ10]

So happy to hear Boople made it through! Keep us updated on his progress!

[Booplesnoot]

Hi! Sorry for the late posting. Boople stayed another night in hospital because he was still a bit less active than the Bunny Doc likes.
I am happy to tell you all that he came home this afternoon! He’s got four different medicines plus Critical Care in case he isn’t eating enough, but his appetite seems to be better than I’ve seen in a while, even at this stage. I’m starting to realize that he may have been sick for quite some time, appetite be damned. His eyes are brighter than I’ve seen since I first brought him home. It makes me so sad to think that he’s been suffering all this time and I never knew… these little lovers are so good at hiding their pain. 🙁 His IV paw seems a little limp and dangly; if it’s still that way in the morning, they want him back to have a look. All in all, he seems happy to be home and he’s munching hay and basil happily. He’s pooping, although they’re still on the small side. He’s grooming himself and consented to a brushing to get the goop and tape stickiness out of his fur. He still has looby eyes from the stuff they put in when he was anesthetized, but it doesn’t seem to bother him. Oh! It turns out he’s older than we thought! This fine beast is pushing five years old. 😉

[jerseygirl]

Binky Binky Binky
So happy to read this update! You must be extremely relieved. {{{Boople}}}  {{{Booples Humans!}}}

It’s probably only in the last 6-8 months that I’ve heard of this happening in rabbits. We have a few members here ( BarbaraC, Lagomorphic&nbsp whose rabbits had the surgery also.

[Booplesnoot]

Oh wow. I’m glad I’m not alone but I’m sorry this has happened to other buns!
It’s very rare…I’m curious about it now though because my vet has already see 5 cases here. Disconcerting, to say the least.

[jerseygirl]

Posted By Booplesnoot on 4/01/2016 12:53 AM

Oh wow. I’m glad I’m not alone but I’m sorry this has happened to other buns!
It’s very rare…I’m curious about it now though because my vet has already see 5 cases here. Disconcerting, to say the least.

Sure is!   The silver lining in that I guess, is that your vet has experience with it, knew the signs etc. Is this something he’s seeing only recently? 

[Q8bunny]

I can’t even tell you how relieved I am that he’s home and recuperating.
Continued (((((Booplesnoot))))) vibes and may the Force continue to be with him.

[Booplesnoot]

I had the most eloquent reply written, and when I hit “send,” Chrome forgot how to internet, and all was lost. 🙁 April Fool?
Anyway…

Thank you all again for your support and enthusiasm at Boople’s good news. I got all misty-eyed this morning reading through everything again, haha.
He is eating like a horse and pooping everywhere. All is well so far!

Is this something he’s seeing only recently?

Yes. In a nutshell, her colleague did a case study on 16 presentations of LLT in bunnies out in Boston. Within less than a year, 4 more cases had presented out here in Seattle ( with Boople being the 5th). Of those 4, two buns had surgery and recovered 100%. One opted for medication management in hospital and the bun was euthanized after two days because her condition deteriorated so drastically. One decided to medicate at home, and was never heard from again; the assumption is that the bun passed.

The scary thing is that unlike dogs or horses where a torsion condition is common and fairly regular (horses get colic and bowel torsions across breeds, and large dogs are known for flipped stomachs), this is strictly a liver torsion in an animal which, until the early 80s, had not been observed before, and seems to be color/breed-specific (lops, dwarfs/minis, white buns). What causes it? Why is it on the rise? The pathology almost makes it seem contagious, which makes NO sense, so it must be genetic…but if that’s the case, it would imply that these rabbits are all from similar bloodlines since it is in localized areas in clusters…my mind is about to explode.

Seriously thinking about going back to school, just to find an answer to this baffling condition!

[Q8bunny]

If I hadn’t left the law to start teaching, I would now seriously consider going to vet school and specializing in buns – and all because of Chewie.

We had an Alsacian/grey wolf mix for 10 years. She was glorious in every way and beloved beyond words. She died from a flipped stomach despite every effort to save her.

Boople recovering put back a little piece of my still broken heart. (((hugs)))

[Bam]

I’m so glad he’s home and eating and pooping =) 

[Author]

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