Rabbit eye bulging; tumor in chest

Question
Hi. I have an 8 year old mini lop.  Lately, in the last week or so, his third eyelid has been showing a little and it is quite red.  I took him to the vet but they know quite little about rabbits and seemed to think it is a pain response.  They x-rayed him and beilieve they have found a tumor on his heart that has apparently been there a long time.  My rabbit does not seem to be in any pain, he eats good, sleeps good, doesnt have any trouble going to the bathroom and still plays lots and runs around.  He does snore a little and has for years.  Do you have anything you can tell me about any of these issues...that is to say...snoring..tumors...pain..and red third eyelid? or any form of treatments you can recomend?

Answer
Followup:

Hi, Angela

I only happened to read your thank you note and rating (thank YOU!) and so saw your next question.  If you have additional ones, the only way I can usually see them is if you ask a followup question.  I wouldn't want to accidentally fail to answer an important question like this one.

Radiation is not a picnic, but I've known very few rabbits who presented with thymoma who were not about that old, and all of the ones who had radiation (that I know of) responded well.  It's pretty much the only therapy that works well (short of the highly invasive thoracic surgery that only one or two vets in the world would attempt).  

Hard to say if there's pain.  Our Kyla showed no sign of pain when she had a thymoma, and she carried it so asymptomatically that we never knew she had it until one day she was having trouble breathing, we took her to the vet, and she tragically died there.  So my guess is that it pretty much taxes the system, causing weight loss and progressively making it harder to breathe simply because it reduces lung space.  

The nictans may be a bit inflamed from the exposure, so you might ask the vet about some emollient ophthalmic ointment.  Metacam or banamine can help with any pain, as well as help with inflammation.

If he's snored all his life, it might not have anything to do with the tumor.  Again, it's hard to say.

I hope he'll be okay.  But the thymoma won't go away on its own, and if you opt for radiation, it's probably better to do it while he's still strong and better able to handle it.

Just my two cents.

Dana



Dear Angela,

The signs you describe are consistent with a thymoma, a cancer of the thymus gland which sits right above the heart.  This type of tumor generally does not spread, but it does grow, and can displace other organs and cause major problems when the tumor is really large.  

The bulging eyes indicate the possiblity that the tumor is pressing on the descending aorta, causing blood to not leave the head as quickly as it normally should.  The abnormally high blood pressure in the venous sinus behind the eye presses the eyeball outward, causing it to bulge, and this often causes the nictans (third eyelid) to protrude, as well.

There are treatments for thymoma, as you can read here:

http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-a=00062824-sp00000000&sp-q=thymoma

But you will also need a veterinarian who is experienced with rabbit medicine and who can refer you to a veterinary oncologist for radiation therapy.

I hope your little guy will be fine.  There are success stories with this, but treatment should be started before the tumor starts to obstruct his breathing.

Good luck,

Dana