abscess on/in neck

Question
Good morning,  I have an approx. 3 yr old spayed female regular ole rabbit. She is 6.25 lbs. Beginning of June we discovered a large lump under her chin/jaw.  Took her to Dr. Brown who saw her bottom teeth were loose and there was a little pus.  She removed 5 teeth.  She stitched the gum and made a hole under her jaw so we could stuff batril soaked gauze under the jaw bone. Every couple of days we were replacing the gauze.  About 3 weeks later Dr.Brown told us she was looking good and we didn't need to stuff her anymore.  A few days later I picked off the scab to the hole and it burst.  It was full of goo and we noticed another lump on the other side of her neck.  Back to Dr. Brown. Teeth still have a little pus oozing.  Dr. Brown cut a hole in the new lump and it too was full of goo, smelly goo.  She had to cut through her scent glands and lymph nodes.  My questions are:  Cutting in that area, will that have an affect on her?  What next in the care of these smelly, pus filled pockets?  I have been giving Munchies a baytril pill each day and we try to squeeze and wash her neck.  She is sneezing a bit and makes a funny watery sound whenever I approach to pick her up.  I think I am on her @#$% list. I know it must be painful and I am trying hard to be gentle.  Should I take her to another vet for a second opinion?  Thank you for your time, you have been very helpful to me in the past regarding questions about a bun I had with glaucoma.
   Thank you
gwyn caison

Answer
Dear Gwyn,

Jaw abscesses are about the hardest thing to treat in rabbits, and they can be a chronic, horrible problem.  I know at least one vet who said she'd rather treat cancer than chronic jaw abscess.

That said, you might want to find an experienced rabbit vet for a second opinion (I don't know which Dr. Brown you're seeing.  But if it's Dr. Susan Brown, then you already have the best, so look no further.)

You might want to ask about putting bun on injectable long-acting penicillin in the long term.  This can have excellent efficacy against many of the most common pathogens inhabiting jaw abscesses.  But it might also not be a bad idea to ask the vet to sample the outer edges of the infected area and have a culture and sensitivity test done:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/culture.html

This will allow the vet to know exactly which pathogens are in there, and which antibiotics are most effective against them.  (Baytril isn't always the best.)

Please also see:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/jawabscess.html

I hope this helps.

Dana