Broken Hind Leg - what should we do

[CherylDee]

My 9-1/2 year old dwarf was running in the house last week, and apparently ran into something. First we thought it was just a muscle tear - she walked on 3 legs. lifting up her right leg.

We took her to the vet on Thursday, and unfortunately, the prognosis was grim. Broken femur, above the knee. I did not see the x-rays, but my husband and daughter said you could see the bone was broken, it was not just a hairline fracture. The vet suggested either surgery ($1500-$2000) or euthanasia. She sent us home with Metcam and Butrenyl (sp) and we told her we'd make a decision after the weekend.

Though she is a loved pet, I have a hard time spending almost $2000 for surgery + wonder how well will she react to anesthesia since she is older. Yet we don't want to put her to sleep. There is also the option of amputation. I was really hoping this was just a muscle tear and would heal itself. Our vet has said that she could not put a cast on it and the bunny's movement prevents the bone to heal itself.

I know that rabbits do their best not to show pain. But, she is hopping around on 3 legs, with her 4th leg barely touching the ground. She rests on her side (both her right and left sides). She continues to rest in the areas around our house that she used too, she's even hopped to our bedroom upstairs twice. She still hops into her cage to pee and poop.

Though I trust our vet, I will call on another for a second opinion. I have read that people have been told to tightly cage their rabbit to reduce mobility, but we were not told to do that. My question is, is our bunny in a lot of pain, or does her pain medications falsely mask it so she is not feeling any pain, thus her hopping around?

 

[Azerane]

I don't really have a lot of advice to give here. My only experience of this sort of situation was with my 11 year old cat (when I was 15), he tore all the ligaments in his hind leg and either needed expensive repair surgery, or an amputation. The first my parents couldn't afford, and the second they argued he wouldn't adapt to. Needless to say, with no power, I lost that battle when knowing him as well as I did, I felt that he could have certainly pulled through and adapted to the situation.

It's really a decision you need to make based on the knowledge of your rabbit. While the pain killers are likely masking a lot of the pain, if it was truly problematic, I imagine you would be seeing a significant reduction in appetite. It sounds like she's coping reasonably well with it though. At 9 years old, surgery (anesthetic) becomes quite a decent risk, but having said that, if you don't do surgery, you're going to anesthetise? While I understand the cost is quite substantial, it sounds like your rabbit might actually cope quite well with undergoing and recovering from surgery.

It's an informed choice, but still a choice that you ultimately have to place in your own hands knowing your rabbit, and whether the quality of life is worth it at that age etc.

Edit: At 9 years old, I'm not sure if there's a decreased healing rate for breaks etc with age. But amputation is certainly an option and I know there are many happy and healthy three-legged bunnies out there

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

I know a rabbit that had a similar prognosis. He broke his leg and one vet wanted to do surgery (either to fix or amputate) at about $1200. They took him to another vet who wrapped the leg and it ended up healing very well. He is a younger bun, about 1-2 when this happened.

It would be worth it to consult another vet. It may be that they can do something or give different advice. It really would depend on how the bone is broken, some just can't heal on their own really well.

It would be best to limit her space, a small cage or large carrier would be good. Good padding (along the sides too if you can in case she falls over), and change the bedding daily to prevent her from sitting in her urine.

 

[missyscove]

Whether or not the leg has any chance of healing without surgery depends a lot on how the break looks. If the bone is broken but the ends are apposing, your chances are likely better than if they're facing completely different directions, for example.

I'm not sure what that second drug is, but if it were me I'd like something stronger than metacam for pain relief.

 

[CherylDee]

We have an appointment with a second vet on Thursday who specializes in small animals and is well regarded in our area. Our bunny still seems happily hopping around so I will be interested in what this other vet says. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high.

 

[CherylDee]

Wanted to report back. We found another Bunny vet for a second opinion by reading reviews in Yelp.
Our new doctor is about 20 miles away (our former vet is about 1 mile away), but we really felt comfortable with her diagnosis.

She had us to cage confine our bunny for almost 6 weeks. We went back for xrays which confirmed that our bunny's leg is almost healed. The break is mending! We now allow our bunny out of her cage 2 times a day for 20 minutes and have blocked the stairs so the bunny can't climb up. Bunny was on medication for almost 4 weeks, but has been weaned off now. We will have to watch Bunny a little better though, she had managed to jump up on a couch the other day.

We are so fortunate that our bunny is going to be okay. I was sick to think that we might have to put her to sleep. And I could not justify the cost for surgery.

:bunnybutt:

 

[majorv]

That's great! If I'd seen this post sooner I was going to say that it would be worthwhile to confine her to a small cage and give it a chance to heal. Our rabbit broke her ankle and it healed fine by doing that.