EMERGENCY Question: Female Spayed Friday

Question
Dana,

My vet has "surgery day" on Fridays, not quite sure why that makes any since because Friday is followed by a long weekend when the hospital is closed...but anyway:

This is the 4th rabbit I've taken care of after a spay.  Surgery went perfect, and she has been taking antibiotics and pain medication just fine.  I got her back around 3pm on Friday.


Yesterday morning I checked her incision site, all was well, looking normal, all 4 staples intact.

At some point last night when I was feeding her and all my other buns, I noticed her putting her head down there, which I assumed she was licking the site or eating her cecotropes.  I did not check the incision site last night.

As you can probably guess, I am kicking myself this morning for not doing it.  She's been acting normal.  You know, at first she wouldn't eat anything (and got some mushy stools), and yesterday she was slowly taking food in and such.  

This morning, I gave her her medicines without incident.  When I checked the incision site, it did not look well.  It looked normal except there was a large area surrounding the site that is red.  I can't tell if it is blood that leaked around or if it is bruised and irritated.  

Right after this I noticed her putting her head down and I physically saw her attempting to pull the staples out.  I'm pretty sure that she succeeded in pulling one out.

I am trying to avoid going to the vet today because it is Sunday, I have experience with rabbits, and I do not feel that she is in any immediate danger.  The site where she pulled the one staple out still looks like it has started healing and does not look like an open wound to me at all.

First of all, I am worried about the staple.  I would assume that she would not have been silly enough to swallow it.  I cleaned her cage out last night, and may have trouble locating it.  I will surely go home after work (my mom is watching her now) and search all the areas that I can to look for it to be sure.  And I know that the only way to know for sure is to get Xrays.  I just feel like she did not because she is starting to eat normally again and I  do not think she would be doing that if she was irritated by a staple in her digestive tract.  Do you think I am correct in these assumptions?

And Second, as a quick fix, I made a small E collar out of a paper plate, which I thought was brilliant at the time this morning, but now I am not so sure.  You had another thread that said you thought this of them:
"The vet is right that an E-collar would be worse than just letting this heal up on its own".

I know that she will not be able to get to her cecotropes, but I think it will fulfill its purpose until tomorrow morning.
What do you think about this.

When i first put the collar on she was obviously a little bit irritated, but has now settled down according to my mother.  She can reach hay just fine and her water bottle okay, so I am not worried about her not being able to eat.

Thanks for your help,
Amberly

Answer
Dear Amberly,

If the incision site is not open, and she is on antibiotics, it might be safe to wait until Monday to see the vet.  But I would definitely give them a call to be sure.  You don't want to be kicking yourself even harder tomorrow.  :(

If bun is accepting the E-collar now, then leave it on.  It will keep her from worrying at those staples, and if she can eat, then all is fine.  

I agree that it's extremely unlikely that she ate the staple.  It probably fell somewhere that is hard to find.  I just can't imagine a bunny actually swallowing a hard piece of stainless steel.  If she did, it really would be a first.  (The staples are irritating in delicate rabbit skin. I don't understand why some vets continue to use them on rabbits.  It's a personal preference thing, but we've seen a LOT more complications with staples than with simple subcuticular sutures and a bit of surgical glue to keep the incision clean and tight.)

For peace of mind, I would call the vet and at least let him/her know about the situation.  If s/he is concerned enough to call you in for an emergency visit, I would get bun there to be on the safe side.

Hope this helps, and that she heals up without further incident.

Dana