Abscess – Need help/Advice

[Ali A]

Hello All,

I posted a few weeks ago about my pet bun hershey, who had a huge abscess in his jaw/cheek area. The vet determined it was due to 2 of his teeth. Last Wednesday, 3/14/18 he had surgery, and 2 of the infected teeth were removed and the abscess was drained/cleaned out and what not during surgery. We got him back on Thursday and the Vet had done a CLOSED healing, she closed his abscess area where they cut hoping it would be fine and no further infection would return. Unfortunately just 2/3 days later, green pus started oozing/coming out of the area, called the VET and took him in today for a emergency appointment. The vet is now wanting to do a heal from the inside to out. What I got from what they explained was that they would stuff the area which is in the jaw/cheek area, with guaze that is soaked in iodium and hoping it will soak up the infection and get rid of it. They said they would have to change the guaze every day or every few days depending on bad this is. 

I love my bun more then anything in the world, but money is now getting short. Spent $1500 last week on the surgery, $500 on a CT scan before the surgery plus the several visits he has had, I am at about $2500 so far and now I have to bring him back Wednesday to try this other method which I don’t even know how much itll cost.

I was curious to see if anyone here has had any experience with this type of abscess in the same area or with the same difficulties. Does the inside to outside healing work? Is it worth it? Is it going to work? Isn’t this a lot of strain on my buns little body? Should we do this inside to outside healing? I Love him to death and am willing to spend the next amount to do this, but will this work? 

Just want to see what everyone thinks, I have till Wednesday and then I will be dropping him off.

Thanks for any advice.

[Melissa Rabbit]

im so sorry to hear about poor hershey. unfortunately, the only two instances of jaw abscesses i’ve heard about were not cured. maybe someone else can shed more positive light–both of my stories are very sad. i wish the best for you and your bunny.

[Sirius&Luna]

I’m sorry you’re going through this.

Now, I can’t remember the details clearly because it was about 15 years ago, but one of my childhood rabbits had a jaw abcess, and had an open wound on his cheek that we would clean and stuff an antibiotic pill into once a day (that gory detail is fresh in my mind). So it is an accepted treatment for rabbit abcesses. As far as I can remember, he did recover well, although now I’m trying to recall the details, I can’t remember how long he survived afterwards or whether it reoccured.

Abcesses in rabbits are notoriously difficult to heal, which is why they are often left open to drain.

You may find this article on the House Rabbit Society of interest, where antibiotic beads eventually solved the abcess:

https://rabbit.org/journal/4-4/pandora.html

[Deleted User]

Did they do a culture & sensitivity test? Is he on antibiotics?

This is just a general overview of what has worked or not worked for my rabbit, and shouldn’t be taken as advice because obviously every rabbit is different.

I have a 6-year-old rabbit who first developed an abscess in the fall. It was cleaned out and left open, a tooth was removed, a culture was taken, and antibiotics were prescribed based on the results. The wound stayed open for about a month, with twice daily flushing. It recurred a few months later, so we tried implanting antibiotic beads. It recurred again, leading us to believe that the infection was more widespread than it initially appeared. So, at that point we did a CT scan and a new culture & sensitivity test. The surgeon removed much more tissue and some bone based on the results of the CT scan. Different bacteria showed up in the second culture, so different antibiotics were prescribed for at least 8 weeks, and possibly longer. Again, twice daily wound flushing.

We’re about 6 weeks out from that procedure. The vet estimated that it would take 8 weeks to heal completely. I’m still flushing it twice a day, and I take her to the vet weekly for a more thorough cleaning. It’s healing slowly from the inside. So, while I can’t say that my rabbit is “recovered” yet, the vet is optimistic that this more aggressive procedure will result in the rabbit being able to eventually be taken off the antibiotics and be free of recurrences.

In terms of quality of life, she had a couple “bad” days after each procedure where she needed heavier pain meds and wouldn’t eat on her own, but within a week she was back at 99% of normal. She is still on pain meds and seems totally fine now, with the exception of being slightly inconvenienced by the wound flushing. She’ll run away and kick her feet out in annoyance after I do it, but if I give her a treat she immediately forgets the grievous offense I’ve committed.

So, if I had to do it again, I would definitely choose to treat rather than euthanize, but I would probably start out with a CT scan and more aggressive treatment the first time. I won’t tell you how much I’ve spent but she’s definitely the most expensive free rabbit I’ve ever had…even more so than the one whose favorite food is macbook chargers.

[Ali A]

[Ali A]

Posted By Halcyon on 3/20/2018 11:21 AM

Did they do a culture & sensitivity test? Is he on antibiotics?

This is just a general overview of what has worked or not worked for my rabbit, and shouldn’t be taken as advice because obviously every rabbit is different.

I have a 6-year-old rabbit who first developed an abscess in the fall. It was cleaned out and left open, a tooth was removed, a culture was taken, and antibiotics were prescribed based on the results. The wound stayed open for about a month, with twice daily flushing. It recurred a few months later, so we tried implanting antibiotic beads. It recurred again, leading us to believe that the infection was more widespread than it initially appeared. So, at that point we did a CT scan and a new culture & sensitivity test. The surgeon removed much more tissue and some bone based on the results of the CT scan. Different bacteria showed up in the second culture, so different antibiotics were prescribed for at least 8 weeks, and possibly longer. Again, twice daily wound flushing.

We’re about 6 weeks out from that procedure. The vet estimated that it would take 8 weeks to heal completely. I’m still flushing it twice a day, and I take her to the vet weekly for a more thorough cleaning. It’s healing slowly from the inside. So, while I can’t say that my rabbit is “recovered” yet, the vet is optimistic that this more aggressive procedure will result in the rabbit being able to eventually be taken off the antibiotics and be free of recurrences.

In terms of quality of life, she had a couple “bad” days after each procedure where she needed heavier pain meds and wouldn’t eat on her own, but within a week she was back at 99% of normal. She is still on pain meds and seems totally fine now, with the exception of being slightly inconvenienced by the wound flushing. She’ll run away and kick her feet out in annoyance after I do it, but if I give her a treat she immediately forgets the grievous offense I’ve committed.

So, if I had to do it again, I would definitely choose to treat rather than euthanize, but I would probably start out with a CT scan and more aggressive treatment the first time. I won’t tell you how much I’ve spent but she’s definitely the most expensive free rabbit I’ve ever had…even more so than the one whose favorite food is macbook chargers.

First off, thank you very much for the reply back.

They did do a culture, CT and is on 2 different antibiotics right now. I guess when they got in there it was worse then what the CT showed.

My rabbits quality of life is still great, he seems almost unaffected by this. He runs, plays, eats, sleeps, gives and receives affection. 

Now, since I picked him up yesterday, the vet has told us to flush out the area with saline spray until tomorrow where he is suppose to have a procedure done where the will do an open healing. The vet said they would stuff it with the iodium guaze. Hopefully this will work, she also stated he would have to have the guaze replaced everyday or every few days based on there projections after the surgery. 

But since I brought him home yesterday I don’t see any/much watery green pus anymore. When I got him last week after the initial abscess cleaning, 2 days later I started seeing green watery pus come out (this was Friday) so I brought him on Monday (yesterday) and since picking him up and doing the flush, there isn’t much if any green watery pus. The saline spray almost comes out clear still. 

Like I said above, he doesn’t seem very effected by this, because he still acts like his normal self day to day. He eats, he plays, runs around, stares out the window, cleans himself, and gives me and everyone else affection (licking us, laying his head on our arms, etc.) and enjoys his pettings still. So I hope this will work. 

[Deleted User]

I’m glad to hear he doesn’t seem too bothered by everything that is going on! Please keep us updated and I hope he has a fast and complete recovery

[LittlePuffyTail]

Hope this new procedure works well and ((((Speedy Recovery)))).

[Ali A]

How do I know if the abscess comes back? The VET sent him home yesterday with saline water to flush/clean the abscess area until the saline water comes out clear, but when I did it it from the start it came out pretty clear, was a little dirty but probably after 5mls out of a 20 ml syringe I used it came it clear, could it be possible that the pus/infection is gone and the doctor missed it? He honesty looks great he look way better then he did since last week when he got his infected tooth removed. I don’t want to bring him in for a new procedure where they put him under and open his abscess area up and make him feel like crap again if the pus isn’t coming out. The wound area isn’t wet/moist it seems to be healing. I’m worried he doesn’t have an infection anymore there is no pus/green watery liquid coming out of the area, no ball/swelling in the area. Any ideas? How can I tell if it is still infected?

[Deleted User]

With a jaw abscess where the infection involved teeth and probably bone, it’s not very easy to tell when the infection is gone. This type of infection tends to be very complicated, and if it isn’t totally eradicated, it can and will come back. One day free of pus/discharge doesn’t mean the infection is gone, and based solely on the duration of the treatment, it doesn’t sound like it’s been long enough to clear an infection like that. It’s definitely a tough decision to put a rabbit through a complicated and painful medical procedure, but there’s a chance that if you don’t do it now, it will have to be an even more complicated and risky procedure in the future if the infection continues to spread. I would talk to your vet and see what they recommend.

[Ali A]

Posted By Halcyon on 3/20/2018 8:48 PM
With a jaw abscess where the infection involved teeth and probably bone, it’s not very easy to tell when the infection is gone. This type of infection tends to be very complicated, and if it isn’t totally eradicated, it can and will come back. One day free of pus/discharge doesn’t mean the infection is gone, and based solely on the duration of the treatment, it doesn’t sound like it’s been long enough to clear an infection like that. It’s definitely a tough decision to put a rabbit through a complicated and painful medical procedure, but there’s a chance that if you don’t do it now, it will have to be an even more complicated and risky procedure in the future if the infection continues to spread. I would talk to your vet and see what they recommend.

I completely agree with you I’d rather do it tomorrow and better to be safe then sorry. My wife feels like it isn’t a good idea as she thinks the infection is gone based on not seeing or feeling any pus/discharge.

Halycon just wanted to thank you for all your replies! You’ve given me some hope. Will be dropping him off tomorrow morning for the inside to outside healing procedure, will update tomorrow night or Thursday morning depending when I get him back.

Thank you everyone for your advice and wishes!

[Nutmeg]

Sending positive thoughts and healing vibes your bunnies way!!

[judy Z]

hey, can you tell me where you get your 500 CT scan? my rabbit needs one and they quote me 2000

for the Abscess, my rabbit had the same abscess as yours lats year. we had surgery remove two teeth and vet left the wound open. we have to going in clean it and wash it twice a day to keep it out of infection. it was a long painful process about 1 month or so but no infection, wound closed really well. now you can’t tell. I hope you find it helpful and feel free to ask me any details.

[Ali A]

Thank you for all the great vibes and help from everyone. Waiting to pick him up tomorrow and will update tomorrow.

[Ali A]

Thank agains to everyone for the responses and wishes.

Hershey went through his procedure and everything went great, the VET said that the abscess site looked good this morning when they replaced the bandaging from yesterday. He is scheduled to return Saturday to get the bandaging replaced again, it looks like every 2-3 days it’ll get changed until a recheck appontment in 10 days. He is continued on the usual antibiotics he’s been on, enrofloxacin and chloramphenicol. They also added today a triple antibiotic ointment to apply to his left eye area. Things are looking up. Judy any advice on taking care of the site while in the early healing stages?

[Nutmeg]

Oh YAY! So glad to hear it went well! Hopefully my comment will bump your post up so that someone who has experience with taking care of a site like that will see it!

[Deleted User]

Glad Hershey is doing well!

[Melissa Rabbit]

so glad there was good news!! i hope Hershey will continue to do well!

[judy Z]

our Bunny never had bandage to cover the wound, it was just a open hole to keep it dry — looked terrifying to me at that time lol.

we have syringe with a plastic long head filled with saline water. we have to go into the wound to flush till the water is clean / twice a day. we did about 2 to 3 weeks and his wound closed without any infection. I also put greens in the food processor and make him smoothies and put pallets in the water then mix those two. our bunny loves to eat those. also my bun loves heat pad or heater if he doesn’t feel good, you can give him a little heating pad under his bed if he likes it. I think the most important thing for early healing is keep it dry and really clean his area a lot. I hope it can help you, Ali and hope your little bun feels better soon.

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