Rabbit case
study No. 1. Rabbit facial abscesses. 1988 article from
.toapayohvets.com Updated July 25, 2005.
 "What is the cause of this
big swelling?" Ms Tan asked of her rabbit. It had a habit
of picking up its own stools and eating them even at the
age of four years. The round soft lump was below the
right eye and the rabbit had rubbed against it, trying to
get rid of the abscess which is a wall of dead bacteria
and white blood cells in a creamy mass.
"It started as a small hard lump. How much it would cost to treat this
rabbit?"
"The cost varies, depending on whether X-rays and
surgery are required.. Was the rabbit free to roam about in your apartment?" I
asked Ms Tan who travelled a lot in her work and who
read a lot about rabbits.
"All rabbits will chew their cage wires, telephone wires
and everything they can lay their teeth on when let loose
in the apartment. It is possible that the sharp
objects may penetrate the inside of the mouth or the tooth
root might get infected.
The veterinary treatment of the rabbit would ideally
involve general anaesthesia so that there would be no pain when I
remove the entire abscess which had a thick wall.
Blood tests, a bacterial check for the abscess and an X-ray
to check whether the facial bones were infected would be complete.
This was in 1998 when a white rabbit was worth Singapore
five dollars while a pedigree dog was worth much more,
above five hundred to a thousand dollars.
The treatment should involve blood test to check the
immune status of the rabbit, X-rays of the abscess to see
if the tooth root and bone of the jaw was infected,
general anaesthesia and the surgical removal of the
abscess as a whole lump to prevent further infection. The
total costs could amount to over two hundred dollars and
could be used to buy over forty new rabbits!
Therefore, it was pragmatic to buy a new rabbit if
the incumbent had disease, in this case, a big facial
abscess which required treatment costing more than a hundred dollars. |
The abscess was lanced with a scalpel and the thick pus,
characteristic of all rabbits' abscess was squeezed out.
This was not a satisfactory method of treatment as the
abscess would form again even though antibiotic "beads" or
gauze or the dental calcium hydroxide were packed into the
abscess to eliminate all bacteria but lancing was the
least costly.
The rabbit was not seen again. The
rabbit's pus is thick because it does not have the enzymes
to liquefy it, as in the dog or in people.
Note: Abscesses in rabbits can be caused by general
infection of the blood by bacteria. Abscesses of the head
may be secondary to dental disease, food packed between
the tooth and gingiva, tooth fracture, tooth root abscess,
or a foreign body.
They occur in rabbits of all ages and frequently develop
rapidly (in a matter of a few days). The abscess is
usually not painful and the rabbit appears clinically
unaffected.
 When teeth are involved the rabbit may become completely
or partially not eating. The abscess may be soft or firm
but frequently they have a soft center. They are usually
not moveable and when bone is involved there may be bony
swelling as well. The wall of the abscess is very thick
and usually contains bacteria.
The pus is caseous, thick,
and creamy white in appearance. Of all abscesses occurring
in rabbits, retrobulbar and skull abscesses are considered
to be the most difficult to treat.
TREATMENT AT TOA PAYOH VETS
In 2005, veterinary costs are kept to as low as possible by not
X-raying the rabbit. However, owners will be given an estimate
of the X-rays and total costs of the treatment of facial abscesses
if X-rays are needed. Some rabbits may need to be warded for
daily antibiotic injections although some veterinarians do give such
injections to the owner for home treatment. |
