E. Cuniculi of the eye

Question
Hi there. My bunny girl,Rascal has been diagnosed by an ophthalmologist with e. cuniculi of the eye. Her normal vet put her on antibiotics which she just finished up her 6 weeks of it. I was given ointment by the eye doc at the time as well,but her eye did not get any better. She went back last night,he gave me two options. Option 1 is do nothing right now,eye drops/ointment,if eye becomes painful,remove it. Option 2,cataract surgery,obviously removing the cataract and the abscess which has grown there since,50/50 chance of regaining vision,eye drops/ointment. My question to you is,which seems like the better option? I'm highly confused and unsure. I'm trying to get all the information I can on this before I make a decision. As for option 1,i hate to wait until she is in pain to do something about it. Option 2,scary as well,but if it helps...So what do you think? I really want to what's best for my bunny. I'm not concerned with how she is gonna look without an eye or any of that. I'm more concerned with overall health and well being. Thank you for your time.

Answer
Dear Lisa,

The lens damaged by the parasite cannot be repaired, so removing it might be the only way to restore vision.  If there is an abscess inside the eye, then the retina may already be damaged.  If this is the case, then it cannot be repaired, either, as nervous tissue in mammals does not regenerate in most cases.

This is a tough call.  Enucleating the eye would be far less expensive than removing the lens, so if finances are a concern that might be a factor.  But if the vet thinks that the eye really will not have sight after lens ablation, then it might just be better to remove the eye, which will stop the pain much more quickly than lens removal and waiting, since the rest of the eye is also affected.

You mention only one eye. Is the other one also affected?  If so, then it might be better to wait and see if the seriously damaged eye can be saved, though a blind bunny can do quite well once she learns her surroundings.

This isn't a decision I can make for you.  I can only tell you the alternatives, as can your vet.  I hope that you and the vet and Rascal will come to the right decision and everything will be fine soon.

Sending healing thoughts...

Dana