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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Very sick rabbit… huge surgery.

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    • Dylan
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        So I’m going to try to make this easy to read, but it’s going to be long.

        Background: Two years ago I received information about a rabbit that was sick and was going to be killed because the breeder didn’t want a sick rabbit. I suppose this is fairly common, but I wasn’t going to let them kill a couple month old rabbit. So I bought him a plane ticket, and (half expecting him to not survive) put him on the plane with nobody there with him and gave him another chance, if he survived the ride to it. Shockingly, he did survive the five hour flight, and the ride home. He has multiple issues (common ear infections, ISC, IMHA)

        He was around a year old when the real problems started. He lost half of his weight, and didn’t fit in to any textbook solutions. After taking him to three different vets that told me I wasn’t feeding him enough (when I was!!) I found a new vet. I hightailed it over to her and waited to see what she would say. A blood draw revealed severe anemia (for those of you that aren’t sure, normal levels of a PCV for rabbits are 35-50, he was around 15). We treated him for a long time without any progress, and it was bad enough that he developed a heart murmur. He was pancytopenic (deficient in red and white blood cells AND platelets) and we finally did a bone marrow aspirate to see if it was leukemia. The results of the bone marrow aspirate came back as IMHA (common in dogs but UNHEARD OF in rabbits) so we tested twice because of all of the skeptical vets that didn’t believe it. In the mean time he was so dehydrated he was getting fluids every day and had to be hospitalized. We got him some (rather expensive) meds that hadn’t been used on rabbits before (until now) and he managed to mostly recover with them. 

         He never achieved “a normal blood count”, but a couple months ago he had a massive relapse. He had relapsed a couple times already, but nothing like this. His PCV went back down to 20 and he was dropping weight quickly. We started giving Epogen shots to get his blood count back up and did a bone marrow biopsy (about two weeks ago). The results came back a few days ago showing that he is still anemic  and he is deficient in white blood cells, and confirmed that he has an immune-mediated disease (we had been/are treating with immuno-suppressants) and that there was a type of cell there showing that there is something wrong with his liver. So the next step was to do an ultrasound (two days ago) on which our vet, and another vet agreed the liver looked abnormal. They said it “is coarser than it should be” and that they were worried about an enlarged spleen as well. An x-ray was inconclusive because it revealed he has fluid in his belly and it’s pressing all of his organs together so we can’t see either of them. Our only option now is to do a liver biopsy and exploratory to find this. The operation has been scheduled for five days from now, and will be about an hour long. The question I have been getting is “why don’t you just euthanize him?” I have considered this time and time again, but he is energetic, eating everything in sight both at home and at the vet, and he is fighting to live. If this liver biopsy returns saying that it’s terminal, I think we will let him live out the rest of his days. Our biggest thought is though: If it was terminal, surely he would have died by now?

        I don’t expect anyone to have any experience with this topic or operation, but I wanted to hear from you guys the best way to get him through the surgery and recovery. This surgery is extremely invasive, and I’m worried about his chances. I want to be able to do everything I can to help him!


      • Wick & Fable
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          Some items I do include:

          1) Very aggressive/frequent fresh hay rotations – To encourage hay diet, I cycle pretty much every time Wick chooses his “best strands” from the pile. I open a new bag of hay, pile it in his box, let him eat some strands, then take all that hay, put it in a separate box, and refill his litter box with hay from the new bag of hay. A constant cycling so he always has a chance to eat the primary “best” strands, enticing appetite. After the recovery period is over, I go back to the box and use that hay, because he’s healthy enough to put up with less lovely pieces of hay.

          2) Keeping it quiet – I become more cognizant of noises, TV volume, etc. to help him out. If it’s too quiet, random sounds are loud, so having the TV on low for some white noise could be relaxing.

          3) Watching – I’ve read many times that rabbits like to sit and face each other as a bonding/camaraderie sort of communication, so I sit by Wick when he’s eating, not necessarily constantly petting, or give him some distance but stay in his visual facing him so he knows I’m there.

          Best wishes and I’ll add if I can think of anything else!

          The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.


        • Bam
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            If he’ll take Critical Care from a platter or spoon, that could be a good way to prep him for surgery. The apple-banana variant goes down best with my bun. It has all the right nutrients and fiber a bun needs. You could add a probiotic, for best possible nutritional uptake.

            Company, as Wick says, should not be underestimated. Rabbits don’t want to interact actively all the time, but they do like to hang out with their “pack”. Wild rabbits hang out together on fine days, they lie like a yard apart and do “nothing”. I think they’re socializing. It’s important for them because many sets of ears and eyes pick up dangers better than one bun can do alone. (Not that there are dangers in your house, it’s about instincts that rabbits have).

            Thank you for saving this bunny. Whatever happens from now on, he really hit the jackpot with you ?


          • Dylan
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              bam, I’ve rescued many buns, I have seven rescues at the moment!

              Wick, he has never been the most avid hay eater, he usually eats about half of it and then uses the rest as a bed! He likes to lie on it even when Clover (his bonded partner) is still trying to eat it haha. We get second cut, but I’ve ordered some third cut that should get here soon to see if it improves. Clover gets spurs often anyway and her weight has been low for a long time now (she was sick and lost a lot, and she is old enough that she never picked it back up). My family has a large “music room” where we have big speakers that play music. The buns tend to drift over there and like to lie in the room, or against the wall outside of it when the music is playing. He is deaf, so he likes the vibrations!

              bam, Wick he does take critical care pretty well when he’s feeling ok (70% of the time), so I will offer him some “critical care meatballs” and I will start putting the Bene-bac in his pellets tonight! He has had free-roam whenever I am home and will continue to until his surgery (I can’t let them roam all the time because they attack each other and make the dogs mad when they jump on them haha) You think he wants me to be around him too? He doesn’t usually like my company, I think he associates me with the needles, meds, and chasing him so that he can go back to his cage for the night!


            • Wick & Fable
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                Unless he actively runs away from you or shows fearful eyes when you approach/touch him at non-medication-administration times, I think he will.

                Wick is pretty consistently sick, and I am the giver of gross medications, shots, lotion applications all over the face that tastes gross… he does not like me in the moment; lunges at my hands, runs when he knows it’s going to happen, but once the ordeal is done, he cannot deny my attention, haha.

                The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.


              • Dylan
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                  Oh never! I do what I need to to make him ok, but I would never do anything that strikes fear into his heart! I could never do that to him. No, he gets blood draws every two weeks and occasional rounds of shots every two days for a few months, and sometimes sub-q fluids. He has gotten so used to it that when you poke him he stops chewing, and the second you pull the needle out he starts chewing like nothing happened. Interestingly enough, apparently he developed scar tissue on his back from the entrances, because one of the tech’s told me that they bent a needle trying to insert it into his back because it wouldn’t go through! We can only use strong needles now, but if you find a place without scar tissue it’s pretty easy!


                • LBJ10
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                    Hmm… I wonder if there are any supplements that would help.


                  • Wick & Fable
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                      Oxbow Digestive supplements have made Wick’s poos larger and more consistent for what it’s worth. Maybe it’ll help him through any tummy issues. You need to break them apart though.

                      The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.


                    • Dylan
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                        Wick, we put him on Sherwood Forest’s digestive tabs, and they have actually turned him around! I don’t agree with everything they sell.. I have found better hay, the GP food has WAY too much calcium and almost resulted in stones for mine, etc, BUT their supplements are actually very beneficial. I’ve used most of them and they all have shown results with no negative effects

                        I tend to stay away from Oxbow actually, because their food has grain and wheat in it, which is harder for rabbit’s to digest and causes most of these problems for him. When I switched him to a grain and wheat free diet, almost all of his problems lessened. It AMAZED me, because all of the other buns handled it ok. Personally, my seven have more energy and better poops when they went off of Oxbow, but I know they are a good brand for many


                      • LBJ10
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                          What about algae supplements? I’ve heard of it being used for dogs with IMHA. You might ask the vet if it would be safe for a rabbit.


                        • Dylan
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                            *UPDATE!!*: Whisper came out of surgery a few hours ago. He was extremely dehydrated when he went in for surgery, and the vet almost didn’t operate because his skin was so sticky. The operation was succesful and he was moved to post-op. He took an extremely long time to recover and had the vet very worried, but eventually he woke up to everyone holding their breaths. He took about three hours to wake up from the anesthesia (an hour after the office closed, but our vet stayed with him) He is weak and has an IV catheter in with fluids being given. The vet is concerned enough about him that she took him home with her and will watch him overnight. The plan is for him to come home late tomorrow provided he does well tonight. In surgery she saw two areas of the liver that were abnormal and biopsied both of them, before sending them off to two different pathologists for their opinions. The biopsies will take a few days to get back, and in the mean time we are trying to focus on getting him better. **I have not heard about what she saw with the spleen or if there was internal bleeding, I am waiting for a response on that and he has only been awake for half an hour which was spent getting him ready and transporting him, so I don’t know if he is eating yet.


                          • jerseygirl
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                              Coming to this thread very late, but Im so pleased to read he came through the surgery! He sounds like an amazing bunny. : )
                              It’s so good of the vet to take on the extra level of post-op care. How is he doing now? Is he home?

                              Would this have been the 1st time he went under GA since being diagnosed with the IMHA?

                              When I was reading your first post, liver lobe torsion ran through my mind, but I think you would have seen him very uncomfortable at some point, if that had occured! I also don’t know if it is something that could self-resolve, leaving some scarring. Highly doubt it. There canbe some anaemia present with this but not the form whisper has, I don’t think. Anyway, that’s where my brain went!
                              I hope the biospy gives some conclusive results so you know how to go about helping him. He is so lucky to have you!

                              {{{Whisper}}}

                              p.s. My only recover advice (f he were at home) would have been keeping him warm and giving some oral rehyration fluids for the glucose.


                            • jerseygirl
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                                Also, thank you for sharing about Whispers condition. It may be of help for someone in the future, if they too have a rabbit with a rarely diagnosed condition.

                                Just tagging on my extra questions here..    Was anything like low-grade anabolic steroids used or considered to treat his condition?

                                What was his initial “sickness” pegged as, before you got him? Do you know if that breeder tried treat anything or did treatments of the a whole herd, even the young rabbits? (ie, like worming)

                                What is the grain-free food you use?  I’m out of date!  I recall some years back there were some soy-free and corn-free, but I don’t recall a fully grain-free pellet. 

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                            Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Very sick rabbit… huge surgery.