Megacolon in rabbits

Question
Dear Dana,
I have posted this question on EB and received a lot of replies. I'm doing research on megacolon in rabbits. My rabbit savvy vet did not know what megacolon in rabbits was, although he helped me treat the rabbit as best as possible. The rabbit died last year, but in memory of her I want to find out all I can about megacolon in rabbits. I've sent an email to several Dutch veterinarian rabbit specialists, but they do not know about megacolon. One says it does not exist and that my rabbit may have had some sort of intestinal worms /parasites. She has been extensively tested on all possible parasites though, among every other available test known to rabbit-kind.
Can you help me? I've done an extensive search on the internet already, I've emailed with Rami from the EB list, but he keeps telling me that I should not be so "set" on a diagnosis like megacolon. I'm not "set" on this diagnosis though, I want to inform vets and bunny parents about this disease, I want to prevent that other people have to search for 3 or more years (like I did) to find an answer, or at least soms sort of treatment. I intend to make some sort of protocol, I mean there are many things that can possibly be wrong with rabbits'intestines and when you rule everything out, there maybe a chance that the rabbit has megacolon. I'm not fixed on this diagnosis alone.
I'm working in this search with another rabbit owner, who has experienced the same problems with her rabbit. Her rabbit also died.
A little while ago I bought the book "rabbit health in the 21st century" by Kathy Smith, this has about 1,5 page of megacolon and symptoms in it. If you take this as a guideline, an accurate description of megacolon, than my rabbit was a textbook case!
I hope my English isn't too bad and I hope to hear from you.
Kim Drinkwater, Netherlands

Answer
Hi, Kim

I'm sorry about your bunny.  We have lost three different rabbits to this condition, and all were white with pigmented spots and dark eyes.  Thie condition, while not the same as "megacolon" in dogs and cats, is real, and it appears to be genetically linked with the color pattern I've described, though it can occur in rabbits of any color.

I have a post on this in my regular email box, and it might help you a little bit.  If you write to my regular email:  dana@miami.edu  I'll send it to you.  

Susan Smith of the Wisconsin HRS was gathering data on this condition as it related to the color morph with which it appears to be linked, but I'm not sure what's been done with it.

Sadly, the condition is congenital, and there really is no cure. The best you can hope to do is to provide palliative care and diet that will not exacerbate the condition.  But some individuals seem to have it worse than others, are more prone to intestinal (not stomach) blockagest because of it, and at some point when they develop a very serious conditionk, it sometimes cannot be reversed.

I agree with Rami that we shouldn't jump to conclusions about this condition.  But it does seem to exist, and the more we know about it, the better we can help those bunnies unlucky enough to be born with it.

Take care. Hope to hear from you soon.

Dana