liver lobe torsion

Question
hi,
one of my bunnies, blu, passed away several weeks ago.  earlier this year, he
was diagnosed with mega colon and had a slight positive ecuniculi test.  we
treated him with sub-q fluids and cisapride at home as needed and he also
had panacur in case the ecuniculi was a factor in the mega colon symptoms.  
a few days before he would have finished taking the panacur, he began acting
out of his normal range.  i stopped giving the panacur and contacted the vet.  
after blood work and xrays, we thought we were dealing with a severe case of
stasis related to the mega colon.  blu would not eat, was grinding his teeth,
and was quite lethargic.  he was given fluids, torb for pain, and reglan (we
were force feeding at this point).  i brought him to back to the vet in the
morning after no improvement overnight at home.  our vet felt that it was
time to start doing the meds/fluids using an IV instead of sub q, but after
about an hour or two at the vet's, blu cried and then passed away
immediately.  we agreed to a necropsy which showed the cause of death was
a liver lobe torsion that is believed to have happened about a week or so
before blu's passing.  the vet feels that his other health problems were
unrelated.  i'm just wondering about the causes of liver torsion, if there was
any way to prevent it, and if this is common in rabbits.  blu was only about 5
years old.  we're devastated... any insights you might have would be greatly
appreciated.  thanks so much,
stacy

Answer
Dear Stacy,

I am very sorry about the tragic passing of Blu.  I hope you can take some comfort in knowing that you did everything you could for him, but mortal efforts sometimes fail when the body just can't take any more.

Liver torsion is not common in rabbits, but I have heard of a good number of cases.  It is nearly always fatal, since it's nearly impossible to diagnose without exploratory surgery--which might be fatal, as well.  Also, the signs of liver torsion are consistent with so many other more common rabbit disorders (ileus, etc.) that few vets would reasonably suspect that problem until the post mortem revealed it.

No one knows what causes this problem.  It could be that some rabbits have an anomalous anatomy that predisposes them to liver torsion.  Others might have related health problems that could affect liver position, but we really don't know enough about this uncommon problem to make any connections.

I am sorry for your loss.  In a case like this, there is almost nothing to be done, and I hope you can at least take solace in knowing that you gave Blu a wonderful life, even if it was too short.

Take care,

Dana