cyst on my rabbits lower jaw

Question
My rabbit floppy developed a cyst on it's lower jaw.  We took her to the vet and he did the following.
1. 10 days on sulfatrim antibotics - no reduction in the cyst
2. Cut open the skin and drained the cyst - put in a drain tube and put the rabbit on sulfatrim and Maltic for the incision.  He checked and fopund noproblems with the molars. Cyst came back.

3. Remaining on the sulfatrim but concern because the cyst keeps filling up.

PLease comment.
Fred Marshall

Answer
Dear Fred,

I'm not sure how experienced your vet is with rabbits, but I think it's time to get a second opinion from a rabbit-savvy veterinarian:

www.rabbit.org/vets

If what you describe is an abscess, and not a cyst, then sulfatrim is usually not up to the task of killing off the bacteria that typically inhabit a jaw abscess.  Please read:

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

and pay special attention to the link to the article by Tyrrell, et al.  You might want to share that one with your vet.  But I would definitely try to find a vet who is more familiar with rabbit dental problems, because jaw abscesses are almost always started by tooth root infections.

I hope this helps.

Dana