Has anyone else had a rabbit die during a spay/neuter

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Mordecai

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The abandoned bunny I rescued 2 months ago was to be spayed yesterday but she died in recovery. Has anyone else had this happen? I'm heartbroken.
 
Not personally, but I know of two that we gave to friends who died during the procedure. It definitely carries some risk, even when done by a rabbit savy vet. I'm sorry you had to experience this, too.
 
sorry to hear about your lose =0/

its a chance that is out there at when this is being done, unfortunately =0(

once again, my condolences .. may she binky away w/ our loved one(s) up there
 
I'm really sad to hear about this 😔 I'm so sorry, it's really heartbreaking! I have never experienced this but when I had my rabbit neutered the vet did forewarn me he may not make it due the risks the anaesthetic can cause. I was told if the bunny is handled a lot and is use to and likes being handled it's not likely they will not make it. I'm really sorry again 💔 x
 
I had four people call me last year crying because their rabbits died post surgery... two were of my bunnies and two were from other folks...

This is why I DO NOT recommend routine spay/neuter of rabbits. Only do it if the circumstances demand it.

Many bunny behaviours can be well managed without need for surgery.
 
I'm so sorry to hear about this, I loved reading about your experience finding that bunny. I still think spay/neuter is the right thing to do. Sometimes it can be hard to gauge the risk. We had a bunny who was chronically ill with GI stasis, we made the choice to spay her even though one vet told us her odds were 50/50 and she made it through just fine. She died a couple years later of unrelated things. Please accept my sincere condolences and I hope you can find the courage and place in your heart for another rescue rabbit.
 
I have had one rabbit die in recovery from his neuter, due to complications from e. cuniculi. I had another almost die pre neuter after the anesthesia was administered. Both were at a low cost spay and neuter clinic where they don't intubate the rabbit and where they probably aren't as closely monitored post neuter, as they would be at a good rabbit clinic. The second rabbit, I did end up getting him successfully neutered by an experienced rabbit vet, that intubates for the surgery. He did absolutely fine the second time around, with no complications. I think his previous near death experience was due to not being intubated and having narrow nasal passages that may have been obstructed leading to his heart stopping. I have also had at least 10 other rabbits successfully spayed and neutered without any problems.

My other rabbit that died, I feel that he may have been able to be resuscitated if he had been more closely monitored(which would likely have happened at a more experienced rabbit clinic), but I'm just guessing and don't really know if he could actually have been saved. Because he was a young rabbit, I didn't have any bloodwork done, which if I had may have shown the vet there was an underlying health problem.

From my experience, having bloodwork done and having an experienced rabbit vet do the surgery where they also intubate the rabbit, is something I would insist on now. It is more expensive but it could be the difference of a rabbit successfully making it though the surgery. It certainly made a difference for my second bun. He had bloodwork done that came back normal, and the only difference with the second successful neuter surgery, was that the second vet intubated him.
 

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