Any Experience with Slight Bulging Eye?

[ChloeBunny]

Hello, My 5+year old (vet thinks may be older) mini lop (rescue) has a slight bulging eye and stopped eating hay 4 wks ago. Her teeth were filed down and no indication of another tooth issues could be seen. An x-ray was not done. My question is for those experienced with older buns - would you pursue further investigation for possible impacted teeth that might be causing the bulging eye? Is this common? The vet suggested it could be a slow growing tumor and to keep her comfortable. She's not eating as much but still eats pellets, some leafy greens, blueberries, and her activity is normal. She's finishing a course of antibiotics and I wondered what some of the experienced owners thought. How likely is it that if it's a tooth issue it can successfully be resolved? If there's a chance I can help her early on, I'd like to. However, if it is a tumor, I don't want to put her through unnecessary trauma and stress her out - agreeing with the vet in comfort care. Any thoughts on how best to approach are very appreciated. Thank you.

 

[JBun]

What antibiotic was given, dose, and for how long? It seems that a possible retrobulbar abscess as the cause is really the only option for a treatment possibly working, so I would want to fully attempt treatment for that. If it's a tumor, then treating for an abscess won't matter, but if it is an abscess then the proper antibiotic given for long enough will only help.

 

[ChloeBunny]

What antibiotic was given, dose, and for how long? It seems that a possible retrobulbar abscess as the cause is really the only option for a treatment possibly working, so I would want to fully attempt treatment for that. If it's a tumor, then treating for an abscess won't matter, but if it is an abscess then the proper antibiotic given for long enough will only help.

Thank you, JBun. Enrofloxacin, .15mg given over 14 days (6 lb. bun). It's used for retrobulbar abscess and I went in asking about the use of an antibiotic. I'm not sure how long is long enough to treat with antibiotics. We are nearing the end of that 14 days on Wed. I have a follow-up appt. then. I just don't know what to expect or if major surgery (going into the upper jaw) can be avoided with an abscess (i.e.,if caught early?) or what full treatment involves. This may very well be an abscess that wasn't seen in surgery. She was in 6 months earlier with a spur and a dead tooth that after removal "looked good" which makes me wonder about impacted teeth. Thanks for your help.

 

[JBun]

Enrofloxacin can sometimes be effective, but if you aren't noticing any improvement then you may want to consider switching to a different antibiotic to try. Someone on here a while back, had a rabbit with a retrobulbar abscess and couldn't do the surgery route, so they tried pen g procaine/benzathine injections. The member was Liung and the rabbit Lahi if you want to look it up. And it worked, and the rabbit is still doing well today after several years. So that may be something to consider. Here is the article that I shared with this member at the time, about treating head abscesses with the pen g. You need to keep in mind that treating this type of infection in rabbits can be a long term ordeal, meaning that antibiotic treatment may need to last a minimum of 6 weeks, though may take several months.
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/jawabscess.html
http://people.umass.edu/~jwmoore/bicillin/bicillin.htm

If you wanted to continue with the oral enrofloxacin instead, I would want to continue it for at least another month. I also find enrofloxacin is most effective given once a day at the higher dose instead of split into two smaller doses, as the research shows it it works most effectively at peak plasma concentration from a single dose as opposed to what occurs sustained lower dosing. So if you are doing twice daily dosing, I would suggest talking to your vet about trying the once daily higher dosing instead. Usual dose for rabbits is 5-10mg/kg per day. I would want to be giving at least 10mg/kg once a day.
http://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Common_drug_dosages_for_rabbits