Urgent! Enucleation post-op on 5 mo Bunny

Question
Hello Dana,

My 5 month old rex bunny had enucleation surgery today and I have a few concerns.  

She is bonded to a 5 month old lionhead female and the vet had me separate them for the passed week while we tried to treat the infection in her left eye because the lionhead was constantly trying to help her clean the eye.  They are currently housed next to each other with an xpen wall in between.  Will it be necessary to keep them separate when she comes home from surgery.  I thought being with her friend might help the healing process, but worried about attention the other bun might give any sutures?

My other question has to do with the surgery itself.  The vet said the eye was full of puss and that, because there was a lot of bleeding during the surgery there is a chance some of the infection reached her blood and that this has a chance of reaching her brain?  Is this a common concern after an enucleation?  

I'm sure the vet will go over signs of things to be concerned with, but he routinely does this procedure on cats and dogs.  There are no small animal or exotic vets within 300 miles of me.  I did check the recommended site at rabbit.org and call to the offices in our area to be sure before initially seeking treatment.  So, are there any concerns specific to bunnies after enucleation that I should watch out for?  Signs of trouble?  

I'm printing this out to use as a guide for now: http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/opcare.html

I sincerely appreciate your advice!
Jessy

Answer
Dear Jessica,

Is your bunny on antibiotics?  If not, this is critical to start immediately.  It would be better with culture results from a sample of the pus (at least at the external edges of the abscess), but in the absence of that, and since the vet thinks there is a risk of septicemia, please ask about *immediate* administration of both injectable dual-acting Penicillin G Procaine/Benzathine (NO oral penicillins are safe for rabbits, and this is the only injectable one that's safe.) *and* a fluoroquinolone.

Injected Baytril would get into the system faster to provide therapeutic levels, but must be given in subcutaneous fluid bolus to prevent local tissue necrosis (Baytril is nasty and caustic!).  

Keep the bunnies close by each other so the mate can offer moral support.  You could try putting them together and see how they behave, but take no chances if the mate might mess with the sutures.

Did the vet enucleate the eye to get at the abscess?  Usually, and abscess like this results from a tooth "root" abscess.  If the offending tooth is not removed and the bunny not treated with antibiotics (possibly for a LONG course), you may not have good results.

There is a very large venous sinus behind the eye in a rabbit; very fragile.  If the vet nicked that, it could account for the bleeding.  I hope there was positive pressure, and no contamination of the bloodstream with bacteria.  

Sending healing thoughts...

Dana