bunny will not eat before or after surgery

Question
Hi Dana,
Just another bunny update.  Bella continues to improve more and more every day. As of yesterday, she is eating pellets and oats. Hurray!!! She hardly sits still anymore.... she is just full of life and energy.  After talking to other rabbit breeders, it seems to be good to offer a bunny straw when they are not feeling well. For some reason it is one thing most bunns will eat when they are not feeling well. Even though there is no real nutritional value, the fiber is super high and keeps those bowels moving.  I am glad I offered it to Bella because it is one of the first things she ate for a few days and after that she started showing signs of poops. Slow but sure she continues to eat a bigger variety of foods all the time. I know that as she continues to feel better she will eat more and more. I also think that giving her plenty of exercise helped her through this as well.  She had lost quite a bit of weight during her ordeal and it will be nice when I can not feel her little hip bones any more.  
Thanks again Dana. I hope that anyone else who contacts you with the same concern has the successful story we have had.
Susan
-------------------------------------------
The text above is a follow-up to ...

-----Question-----
Hi Dana,
Bella Rose is still with us and still just nibbling on hay and dark leaf lettuce here and there. She drinks small amounts of water, but very sparingly. The vet who treated her continues to encourage her force feeding if we want her to survive. It is esier if I hold her and my daughter feeds her. It is less of a struggle for the little bunn. She has one day of pain meds left to take tomorrow and after that will be off them completely.  She gets her probiotics with every feeding every 3 hours. She goes all night on her own, but I get up at 3:30 to start her up again. When I am done feeding she loves to be pet and massaged on her ears, face and down the sides of her spine. She stretches out and shuts her eyes. Bella is such and awsome bunny, and is quite a fighter. The only thing we did not do was bloodwork, so I can only hope everything in that department is good to go.  The bill for her surgery and hosptital stay was almost $1000, and everyone who helped with the cost is pretty financially tapped out.  The vet said her liver looked pretty good when he did the surgery so hopefully we haved saved her of any liver trama. I just wonder how long it will be before she is eating normally again.  I did get to see the mass of gunk dr. took out of Bella's stomach and it was about 2 1/2 -3 in in diameter. Being she is only a 31/2 lb bunny, this must have consumed her whole belly. It smelled pretty bad too.  I hope you don't mind a daily update. I thoght maybe this story would help someone else who may find themselves in the same boat. I am a firm believer that the power of healing not only comes from modern medicine, but with lots of love, time, and patience. Thanks Dana for all of your time, thoughts and Support

Susan
-------------------------------------------
The text above is a follow-up to ...

-----Question-----
I brought Bella Rose home last night and as soon as she got in her cage she started nibbling on hay and has continued to do so. Not huge amounts, but it is atleast something.  The vet sent me home with some pain meds and probiotics and said I should continue to force feed, but when I do she gets so upsets and starts to grind her teeth a bit. I think it gives her some pain since her surgery just a few days old. I may not force feed anymore and just see if she sparks up her eating by nibbling the hay. I almost think the trama of trying to force her will only add to her stress. When she is in her cage however, she cleans herself and hops around like a normal bunny.  I can't believe she has made it this long.  Her surgery was on Saturday and we are not at Tuesday.  Thank you for your thoughts and wishes.  I will let you now the outcome.  

-------------------------------------------
The text above is a follow-up to ...

-----Question-----
We did everything possible before the surgery. The surgery was a last resort. The mass he took out had a very foul smell to it. She has been on Reglan, pain meds, and her temp is monitored on a regular basis. I went to see her today and she is acting pretty normal otherwise.  Just no food intake outside of what they are force feeding and no poop yet either.  The vet seems pretty ontop of the situation, and with all the research I have done myself, he has done everything in his power.  Several xrays were taken over several days of treatment (before the surgery) and the mass continued to get bigger. There was no other obstruction found and her bowels were reactive.
-------------------------------------------
The text above is a follow-up to ...

-----Question-----
I recently rescued a bunny what was overwieght and pooping when I got her, but a few days after I got her home she came off her food and water completely and had no poop in her cage outsided of a few small pieces here and there.  I took her to a vet that works with rabbits and they treated her quite aggressively, however the large mass in her stomach was getting bigger.  We took the route of performing surgery and had the hairball removed, but the bunny is still not eating. It has been 48 hrs since surgery and I am afraid I will loose her.  The vet office is force feeding her around the clock and she is getting probiotics, vitamin b complex and sub q fluids. She was on iv fluids, but her little veins won't take anymore of that. Do you have any suggestions as to how we can get her back on track with eating again?  Any advise you can give would be great. I will be taking her home tonight and I was going to bring another rabbit in to the house to put in a cage next to her in hopes this may spark something.  Thank you for any help you can offer.
-----Answer-----
Dear Susan,

I'm really surprised that a vet who claims to be experienced with rabbits would do a gastrotomy, which is an absolute last resort, if the bunny is in a true bloat.  And even then, it is not recommended.

Key issues:

1.  Intestinal motility drugs.  Is she on Reglan (metoclopramide and/or cisapride)?  If not, she probably should be, if the surgical site is not at risk.

2. Is her body temperature being monitored?  If not, it should be.  Hypothermia due to shock is one of the main killers of a rabbit who has undergone this kind of trauma.  Her body temperature must be kept in the 101-103 Farenheit range!

3.  Pain management can mean the difference between life and death.  I would ask about getting her on metacam and tramadol ASAP.  At least it will make her feel better!

Please read this immediately:

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

and share this with your vets, if they are receptive to such things:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.pdf

I hope your bunny will make it, but gastrotomy on a rabbit is STRONGLY discouraged by expert rabbit vets.  It is a surgery of absolutely last resort--or not to be used at all, due to the very low survival rate.

I will send many healing thoughts for your bunny.

Dana
-----Answer-----
Dear Susan,

I hope she recovers soon!  One key to success in a gastrotomy appears to be filling the stomach with some food before closing it back up--almost like "priming the pump."  But it's a little too late for that, so I'm hoping that feeding her Critical Care and giving gentle abdominal massage will get things going, and that she'll be one of the lucky ones!

I'm sending good thoughts your way.

Dana
-----Answer-----
Dear Susan,

That's FANTASTIC news!!  I agree with you that letting Bella choose her own food and the amount she wants now is a good course of action.  As long as she's eating and drinking *something,* she's on the mend.

I am so happy this worked out well!  She is one lucky bunny, and she's lucky to have such a caring, attentive "mom."

Crossing all my paws for her full recovery!

Dana
-----Answer-----
Dear Susan,

I'm so glad to hear that Bella continues to hang on and improve. What a fighter!  I have no idea how long it will take her to be back to normal, but I would think it will be at least 2-3 weeks before she's feeling significantly better.  This was a HUGE surgery for her, and she's lucky to be alive with such caring, loving parents.  I'm sure it's your love and support more than *anything* that have pulled her through this.

Thank you for sending the updates!  They are really appreciated!

Dana

Answer
Dear Susan,

I'm so happy to hear that Bella seems to be making a full recovery.  What a survivor! And a testament to your wonderful nursing of her through a difficult recovery.  The vets are to be commended for doing a good job on this surgery, which has a very low survival rate when done on rabbits!

Yes, we've noticed that when a bunny is feeling poorly that hay (timothy) is often the only thing they want.  Then they progress to leafy greens, and about the last thing they finally accept is their old favorite "naughty treats."  I guess they read their bodies pretty well!

Thank you for the update, and give a big, hearty noserub to Bella!

Dana