jaw abscess

Question
hi my rabbit is at the vets at the moment he has a large abscess on his jaw its very hard with a large scab on top the vet is going to lance it under surgery i wondered what the chances of successful treatment is,this is going to cost a good deal and its important i get him well but my finances are limited, so what would happen if there came a point i could not afford anymore treatment, do you think it would heal up eventually, i hope i am never put in this position I'm hoping his op is a success with the mandatory follow up treatment with antibiotics

Answer
Dear Nancy,

Unfortunately, you can't get dual-acting penicillin in the UK.  But the next best thing for abscesses of the head is often injectible Penicillin-G Procaine.  The exact drug that's best for the problem should be determined by culture and sensitivity testing:

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

but if you can't do that, then Pen-G is a good first choice for this type of problem.  Combining the penicillin with a fluoroquinolone (e.g., Baytril or ciprofloxacin) can provide greater coverage, so you might want to ask the vet about this.

Please also read:

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

as well as the link to the article by Tyrrell, et al.  I hope this will give you the information and help you need.

Dana