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Bladder stone in 10 year old rabbit

22 9:42:16

Question
My ten year old male rabbit was diagnosed with a bladder stone and sludge, during an X-ray taken for an episode of stasis. The vet flushed out the sludge and gave him Metacam and Baytril. She says the stone must be removed surgically. She said stones are painful for the animal. Fred doesn't seem to be in pain, probably because of the Metacam.

I am concerned because Fred is ten. My question is: Is it riskier to operate to remove the stone, or riskier to leave the stone and hope it doesn't cause problems in the future? How painful is a stone/sludge?

Answer
Dear Carrie,

You're between a rock and a hard place here.  (sorry)

A ten year old rabbit can safely undergo surgery if he is otherwise healthy.  But I would recommend a complete wellness check including bloodwork so your vet can determine if there are any detectable problems that could make him a poor surgical risk.

The surgery is not major, and it can make him MUCH more comfortable.  Stones hurt, rabbits are incredibly stoic, and that's not a great combination.

If he were my bun, I would get the wellness check and have the stone removed if the checkup reveals that he's a reasonable surgical risk.  He could live another 5 years or more, and it would be miserable to live that with a painful bladder stone.  :(

Wish I could tell you otherwise.  No surgery is 100% risk-free, so you will have to make this decision based on what the vet tells you and what your heart tells you.

I hope all goes well.

Dana