Post-surgery ear scab left a hole

[moonbunny]

Hello everyone,

My bunny Nibbles went in for a spay to remove uterine tumours about two weeks ago. All went well, and when we went to pick her up I noticed that part of her right ear was shaven and a little injured (presumably from either her drip or her blood transfusion). 

Two hard scabs eventually formed, and her ear was healing nicely. Recently I noticed that one of the scabs was beginning to lift, and I left it to come off on its own.

This morning I woke up to find that both scabs had come off and to my horror there was no skin underneath! Nibbles is otherwise in perfect health, but she now has a small hole in her ear where the scab used to be. Nothing is bleeding or injured, but I certainly expected the scab to reveal a new layer of skin rather than to come off and leave a hole!

I have sent my vet a message (since the animal hospital I go to is closed on Sundays) and will definitely follow up with her, but I’d like to know if anyone has experienced anything similar with their rabbit and what the outcome was.

Thank you,

Laura

[Bam]

 Sometimes an IV into the ear results in tissue necrosis. We have one member (Muchelle) who’s bunny Kuro lost most of one ear due to this. Rabbits can also get ear necrosis after bites, and while it’s not esthetically pleasing, it’s not dangerous as long as the edges around the tissue loss are dry, not wet or inflamed/infected-looking.

[moonbunny]

Thanks for your reply, bam, and my condolences to Muchelle and Kuro. My vet has replied and confirmed that it’s a rare complication from having a drip/IV, and that Nibbles will unfortunately not recover that skin (she’s lost some flesh on the outer edge of her ear and there’s a small hole as well). She is consulting with her peers in order to determine what can be done.

[Fluffykins]

Oh gosh. So I’ve had the same thing happen to me (well fluffykins). He had spots on his ears (no surgery) that turned to scabs and most of them fell off leaving bare skin underneath.

Only, the scab on the tip of one ear didn’t follow that pattern. I woke up to find the very tip of his ear is now missing. I, like you, was horrified. I don’t understand why it happened.

He’s fine in himself and this happened a few days ago so I’m not worried about anything furthur happening, I just don’t understand why it happened in the first place. The bare skin around the “hole” is darker then normal, almost blackish. Is that part of his ear ‘dead’?

Why did the spot turned scab, practically burn an actual hole through his ear?

[Bam]

Fluffykins, the ears are so thin and so far from the heart. If blood circulation gets cut off, nutrients and oxygen can’t reach the tissue and the tissue dies. With Kuro, his ear just shrivelled up and fell off. Muchelle now calls him a pirate bun, meaning he has only one ear like pirates in cartoons have only one eye.

Here’s a pic of him and his ears: https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/aft/162689/Default.aspx

He got the canula in his ear when he had gut surgery to save his life, he had a hairball blockage.

[moonbunny]

Fluffykins: In Nibbles’s case, those two parts of her ear didn’t receive enough blood due to the IV. I’m told that it’s a rare complication, but a complication nonetheless. The rest of Nibbles’s ear is fine, and the skin around the hole has healed well.

Luckily for Nibbles, there’s a little strip of tissue that survived that’s keeping her ear upright. Other than aesthetically, she’s perfectly fine and her ear is functional.

I would definitely recommend seeing a vet for Fluffykins since her problem was not related to surgery. Also, the skin around Nibbles’s ear is a sort of whitish pink. I’m unsure if black skin is cause for concern, but you should consult your vet to make sure.

Thanks for all the advice, bam I sometimes say that Nibby is my “holy” bun. 

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