Anesthesia - Eye is partially closed

Hello,

My rabbit had anesthesia today for an x-ray. It's currently about 14 hours later and I just realized his right eye is half closed while his left eye is normal. I thought he was just sleepy today when looking at him from one side. He can occasionally open it a bit more but not for very long.

Otherwise, he has been eating and played a little bit this evening. He's not 100% but is acting as I expected after the vet visit.

If it's like this in the morning I will call the vet. Has anyone experienced this?

Thanks

Without knowing what they used for anesthesia and why he had radiographs, it's hard to say. If he's eating I wouldn't be too worried.

He was getting the x-rays to check on a GI problem he's been having. I think they used isoflurane. I can only remember the flurane part from the bottle and I don't think it was Sevoflurane.

I had a rabbit die once from complications related to anesthesia and I'm probably a bit on edge once I noticed this.

Update - It looks like his eyelid is actually swollen near the top. He was not in a good mood yesterday during the vet visit. It's likely he was fighting them when getting the gas. Assuming this is an impact injury from the struggle, any thoughts on home care for something like this?

FWIW, I don't see any discharge or matted fur around his eye. It seems more like an impact injury. Also, he is otherwise behaving normal and it does not seem this is an effect of the anesthesia itself.

I know when GA is used on rabbits, they sometimes put something in their eyes. Maybe ask your vet if they did put something in your rabbits eyes in case he is having an allergic reaction to it.

If it's bruising, I think you just have to wait for the swelling to go down on its own. And just keep an eye on it. If you notice any bulging of the eye itself, contact your vet immediately.

Thanks. I didn't know about them putting something in their eyes. This should be his 3rd time under (2 x-rays and 1 neuter surgery) so I'd like to optimistically think he's okay with the ointment or whatever they use.

I sure wish I could see the white around the edge of his eye. The glimpse I got looked red to me but I really can't be sure. There's no drainage though. So, I imagine I am not dealing with a foreign body or infection.

Thanks again!

I have heard that sometimes a rabbit can build up an intolerance to something. My first rabbit Bandit was treated with the same brand of flea treatment several times without event and then suddenly had a massive reaction to it.

wow. Good to know.

His eye is opening more as hours go on. Definite improvement there. There's a small amount of something on his eyeball but not enough to start running to the corner. I guess I'll monitor and take him to the vet on Monday if does not clear up completely.

Does anyone know of a rabbit safe eye drop that would help if there is dryness or if there's something that needs to be flushed out of his eye?

Usually a plain sterile saline can be used.

Glad to hear there's been improvement.
Yes, when animals are anesthetized (humans too I think), we squirt a little eye lube in to keep their eyes lubricated since they're not blinking while they're under anesthesia (or at least they shouldn't at proper anesthetic depth).
If they were using a mask for the anesthesia it's possible the mask bumped part of his eye.

Plain saline should be safe to use.

How is his eye now? I just ran across this today and had the same experience with my rabbit last August after some anesthesia, and it turned out he had symmetrical corneal ulcers which we are still trying to get rid of (they keep recurring). My vet thinks maybe the masking technique caused it, since all 3 of the bunnies I took had anesthesia and all 3 had ulcers afterwards. The lube they use during anesthesia probably contains petrolatum, which rabbits are often sensitive to, so it could also be an allergic reaction that developed over several exposures (mine also had previous anesthesia with no problem). Anesthesia can cause exposure keratitis, though the lube is supposed to prevent that. If he isn't back to 100%, I'd definitely get him checked for ulcers.