3 year old mini lop

Question
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Followup To
Question -
I discovered a hard lump under my little Peanuts chin on Wednesday morning. After taking him to the vet, he was scheduled for surgery Friday .He weighed 4 lbs.
I took him in as requested, 7.00A.M. and called about 3 times, to be told he had been put last on the list.
At Noon he was given 0.07cc of Metacam.
At 4.40 P.M. he was given 0.2cc of Ketamine and 0.31cc of Buprenex. 15 mins. later he was dead.
The vet called me at 6.15 P.M.
Can you throw any light on this, for my own piece of mind.
Thank you,
Gina

Answer -
Dear Gina,

I am so terribly sorry about this devastating loss.  It's likely that your bunny had a molar root abscess, and although a few vets still try to treat this surgically, the preferred method these days is medical treatment with bicillin injections every other day.  This protocol has proven incredibly effective against even the worst jaw abscesses.  I know it's too late to help your bunny, but the information can be found here:

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

None of the medications you mention are unsafe for rabbits, and it sounds as if your bunny had an idiosyncratic reaction to the pre-anesthesia.  Did the vet give any details about cause of death?  Was an autopsy done?  These might reveal an underlying condition that might have made your bunny a poor candidate for surgery--though not necessarily. Sometimes a bunny just doesn't handle the anesthesia well, and there is no obvious explanation.  

I am so sorry about this loss.  I know how much it hurts, and how you are probably wishing you had not taken him in for surgery.  But please know that you were doing what you thought was best for him, and things should have turned out fine.  We're only human, and can't see into the future.

I hope it helps to know that although Peanut was not with you for long enough, he had a wonderful life with a human who loved him.  This is more than millions of rabbits ever have, and he was lucky to have such a caring "mom" who would do whatever it took to make him well.

I wish I could help.  But please write back if you have any other questions.

Dana


Dear Dana,
Thank you so much for talking to me, you have no idea what it means to me, and thank you for your care and concern.

I am totally devastated by this, I will never be able to forgive myself, for not questioning the procedure, or for not being with him in his last twelve hours of life.
The Vet had performed surgery on Bun Bun, my 6 year old, who was near death, due to a burst abcess on his side, and it took me thirteen visits to 6 different Vets to find her, and she saved his life. Some of the visits we made with him, were 150 miles a trip. I have had to research most of the medical procedures myself on the internet, as I have found the majority of vets here sadly lacking in rabbitry.
Therefore I did not research this procedure, which was the first time I hadn't.

When the Vet told us, Peanut had passed, my husband and I went to the Vets office. As I was holding him, both myself and my husband asked why had this happened, she said he could have died from the abcess, and I remember asking her if that was the case why was he last on her list.!! I later received a copy of his bloodwork, and his WBC was 3.2 which would signify no infection had entered his bloodstream, and the abcess only appeared two days prior.
She also said he could have died from fright, as she was trying to put the IV in, but if he had been administered the tranquilizer and the analgesic, I find that very hard to believe.Then she asked my husband to sign the Cremation papers, which he did not do till the Monday.

Seven weeks ago, after the hurricane, we lost power, so we had all three of our bunnies boarded at the Vets, as we were frightened they would overheat, naturally I visited them every day. When we had power, and went to collect them, the Vet told me she had done Peanuts teeth, as she said they were a little long. I was quite stunned he had been gased and I had not been told prior to the procedure, but he seemed okay. Could this have any bearing on developing an abcess?
He was a happy healthy bunny, or could the anaesthetic have affected his immune system?
The day after he had passed, I contacted the Animal Emergency Clinic, and asked if they would perform an autopsy, or if they knew anyone who would, (they know me there) and they said they couldn't get involved.
So, I contacted another Vet, who I see with my cats, and she said, because he had been frozen they couldn't do one or a toxicology sample.
Now he is waiting to be cremated, I don't know where he is, as they were sending him to The Animal Humane Societyor how long it will take.
I have so many unanswered questions, Dana. The person who called me on Saturday, the day after he had passed, wasn't even there that day.
I cannot contact the Vet, as the day she had Peanut, was her last day there, before going on vacation for three weeks, (she was staying at home)nor has she called me. Does this shed any light on anything?

Which brings me to another problem.
I am so sorry this is so long, but thank you for bearing with me.
Dinky, my 7 year old mini lop, has been on Critical Care now, three times a day, for 4 months, he had a molar inbedded in his upper jaw, which had broken off. Ever since then he has had his teeth trimmed every 6 weeks, and has been administered Isoflurane. What adverse effect will this have on him and his organs if this is to continue? A week ago, after the procedure, he took much longer to come around than before.
I have got him now to eat grated carrot, which I put in with his pellets, banana and grapes, all by himself, he won't eat hay or greens,it has taken me four months to get this far. Do you have any suggestions? Is it necessary to trim teeth every six weeks? The Vet who did the initial surgery, who was 150 miles away round trip, said he would have to be checked every 3 months.
Please, please could you help me.
Thank you for listening
Gina

Answer
Dear Gina,

It doesn't sound as if your vet was being cavalier or careless with Peanut, and if she did a molar trim while he was boarding (which she probably should have asked you about first), then she does know about this very common problem.

There is absolutely no way to know whether the molar trim had anything to do with the resulting abscess.  It's possible, but the abscess might have developed any way.  In rabbits prone to molar spurs, jaw abscesses are more likely to occur.

From the description, it sounds as if Peanut passed away while they were trying to insert the IV.  Did the vet say where they usually insert such a catheter?  Not that it really matters.  But a foreleg or lateral saphenous catheter are the least invasive.  If they tried a jugular stick (highly unlikely if this was an experienced rabbit vet!), then the stress might have had something to do with it.

Peanut might have had some sort of "time bomb" ticking inside him.  A heart condition?  A pulmonary embolism waiting to happen?  Unfortunately, there's just no way to know.  I wish it were not so.

I really don't think repeated molar filings with isoflurane are a problem.  The gas is rapidly cleared from the system, mostly through the lungs and very little through the liver and kidneys. That's why it's the anesthetic of choice:  very little residual effect.

I wish I had an answer, but there might not be one we ever can know.  But my heart goes out to you and to Peanut.  I'm glad he got to have you as his "mom."

Dana