Abscess behind the eye

Question
QUESTION: Dear Sandra,
I am very impressed with your expertise in rat care and love your web-site. Just been looking at past Q & A's & came across a question that looks like my daughter had written it as so many things were identical. I have some questions for you please, as I am finding this so hard to know what to do.

We have a 20mth female rat called Rosie. She had a successful operation for a mammary tumour back in January, but another lump appeared under the scar in June so we returned to the vet. She had a large infestation of lice which was unusual, so we were given 'spot-on' for 3 weeks to clear these before submitting her for surgery. I did tell the vet that she had been a little quiet, but the vet thought she seemed fit and well. 2 weeks later she had head tilt & could hardly stand. The vet could see white blood cells behind her right eye, but her ears were clear & diagnosed abscess behind the eye. She was put on Baytrill with a view to having her put to sleep in a week if there was no improvement. She is still with us 4 weeks later!! Every day she seems a little stronger. She is still very wobbly, but she grooms and still loves her food and responds to us when called. She was back in with her litter mates when she got fed up with being in her box on her own and seemed to be doing well until Sunday (12 July) when we thought we were going to lose her. Her breathing was laboured, she wouldn't respond to food & her right eye bulged out. I pushed it back in and it stayed. I gave her Meloxivet to make her feel more comfortable and my daughter cuddled her all afternoon preparing for the worst. The next morning she was alert and biting at my fingers for food! She is a big rat (500g) so I increased the Baytrill to .3ml twice a day. She is still with us and still eager for her food (baby food mostly, but anything we mush up) she even tried to climb out of her box for cuddles this morning. She washes and tries to scratch when I groom her.

The big question is can she recover from an abscess behind the eye? While time is ticking by her tumours are getting bigger making it harder to walk anyway. My vet says while she still wants to eat and come to us for cuddles she is still fighting for life, but I know that something serious is going on inside her, even if she isn't aware of it. She does not appear to be suffering, but it's a far cry from running around and playing.

Kind regards

Monique

ANSWER: I am very sorry that Rosie has these problems.  I do want to ask if she still has the head tilt?
Is she able to use her front paws?

As for an abscess behind the eye: what should happen or should HAVE happened is enucleation of her eye.  Once the eye is removed, the vet should be able to clean out the infection as long as he is properly equipped to handle small mammal surgery and has access to microsurgical tools etc...    My favorite rat had to have his eye removed and the surgery was just as simple as having a tooth pulled (I have had rats have teeth removed, too)  

However, with her slew of health problems, I am not sure how well she would do with anesthesia.  

I would not remove her from her cagemates and would keep her happy and give her whatever she wanted.  If she were suffering, you would know it. Never allow a vet to tell you to put your rat to sleep. Only YOU will know when the time is right to do it.

AS for the dose of baytril your using...this is not the best choice for an abscess.  She should be getting something that is actually made for the bacteria that causes abscess such as Trimethoprim sulfa.  This drug is able to penetrate into exudate and abscessed tissue.

I would ask the vet about removing the eye.  If she is fighting for her life and things look grim for her recovery, what do you have to really lose by trying the surgery?  I would only do it if the vet was very experienced though.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Rosie no longer has head tilt, just very weak and wobbly on her legs and finds it difficult to stand (possibly made worse by the growing tumour near her hind leg muscles). She almost drags herself to come out and eat and go to the toilet.

Does she use her hands? Not to grasp food, but she does lick her hands and wash herself over her face and behind her ears and puts her front legs forward when I put her back down. She did put her hand on my finger just now when I gave her a treat. If she doesn't hold her food, does that mean it may be something more serious like a brain tumour?

She does find it difficult to chew and bite, although her bite does seem to be getting stronger in the last couple of days.

I have put her back in with her cage mates now. There is no worry about her falling off anything as she cannot climb. She is being groomed right now and doesn't seem to mind being trodden all over!

As for my vets, they are a couple of girls whose compassion for animals is more that I could hope for. They are so good and have always encouraged surgery for mammary tumours (twice for Mollie# and their charges are very reasonable only 30 pounds for an op), but money has never been an issue where my pets are concerned. I only want what's best for them.

She did have an op for her tumour and although successful, I do remember that she had a bit of trouble with the anaesthesia. She probably isn't strong enough for an op right now. We will go back to the vet and I will enquire about the drug you mentioned.

Thank you for your quick reply.

Answer



I am so so so sorry to say this, but I do believe she has a pituitary tumor.  I do not think she has a tumor behind her eye.  
The is a result of the pituitary tumor.

Signs of pituitary tumor are as follows:


Weakness that may be gradual but also can be sudden.

Lack of coordination

Weakness or loss of use of forelimbs (front paws)You may notice she is unable to flex her forelimbs.
This weakness  or inability to flex forelimbs may progresses to the hind limbs where she will suffer weakness and eventually start to drag herself around. This will occur as the tumor continues to grow.

One eye protruding more than the other.

Due to the  growth of the tumor pressing, it presses behind the eye and may actually cause it to bulge out.  This sounds like what your rat is going through now.


Difficulty holding food when eating, which you have said she has as well.

Difficulty chewing and eventually she may have difficulty swallowing. This is when it is time to consider letting her go because she wont be able to eat and drink.
SHe may walk in circles, have head tild and possibly seizures.

Sudden death is common.


I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it does sound like this is what is going on with your girl.  Her age is prime for this to happne, sadly.  When mammary tumors grow, it is due to the fact their estrogen levels are high, usually after menopause has set in , from 14 to 18 months old.  Estrogen causes the growth of mammary tumors and also pituitary adenomas.  Prevention is to have the rats spayed while they are young, around 3 to 5 months of age.

I have info on my Critter city site about all of this, sadly.  Here is the link:

http://www.freewebs.com/crittercity/allabouttumors.htm


I really wish I am wrong about this, but I really feel that it is the tumor in her brain.