(RIP) recovery time after cardiac arrest

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lauren

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My bun "mamas boy"went into be neutered yesterday andhe went into cardiac arrest :( they were able to get him back thank goodness!! but what Im wondering is how long will it take for him to recover? im worried .

-Yesterday at 7 pm he had a nose twitch

-830 pm he was still sleepy but blinking and responsive.

-then at 1030pm he wasat my vets home andquiet but lifting his head

-Today at 7 am he is alert but a little stiff ,i asked if he was standing but she said he was not coordinated yet.

it seemsto me he is getting better slowly, im sure he is banged up from cpr, the iv the nueter and all.

Im wonderingwhat to expect in terms of him recovering like when should we be expecting him to start moving around and eating. he has an iv so fluids arent a problem for now. Do you think I should bring him home to recover?, do buns recover faster at home than at the vets? i thought if he starts eatingthan it was be a less stressful enviorment to be in. but if he needs the iv than im sure hes better off at the vets..

any imput would be greatly appreciated..

thanks
 
I am really no expert at all on cardiac arrest in buns :(- I hope someone with more experience can come and help you.
I would imagine that, as he has spend a while at the vet's home, he should be out of the 'risk zone' hopefully, so maybe being at home, in his comfortable surroundings, would be good for him?
He might feel less stressed back with you and his own bed etc.

But I am not entirely sure- what does the vet say about taking him home? If the vet seems unsure, then maybe it would be best to leave him there, where medical attention can be provided immediately it is needed, if it is needed.

I think it would be best to talk to your vet about is, assuming they are rabbit savvy?

I hope he recovers quickly. My thoughts are with you and him.
:)
Jen
 
My bun Sugar's heart stopped on the operating table when she first went in to get spayed. However, they had not cut in to her when her heart stopped so she was not operated on. She recovered very well, and went back to get spayed a couple weeks later and that surgery was a success.


It is now about 2 years after her spay, and she has not show any signs of harm from her heart stopping on the table.


Is he on pain medication? Make sure he is on a good pain medication like Buprenex or Tramadol. I'm sure his little chest is sore if he had CPR, not to mention his neuter incision.

Fluids and pain management is going to be the best route for getting him better. If he's not eating, then he definitely needs to be supplimented with fluids and an IV is excellent.

I would say in the next day he should start feeling better. Hopefully he will start to eat today. Once he is eating, I would be comfortable bringing him home. However, if he doesn't start today, you could try bringing him home to see if that helps relax him so he feels comfortable eating.

Can you bring in some fresh greens for him? Often times some dandilion or spring mix will entice a bun to eat. Some alfafa hay might be something to try to, most buns really love it.

-Dawn

 
I would guess that it would depend on why his heart stopped and how long it took to get it back, but not really my area.

The most common reason is a anesthetic dosage issue, the bun doesn't tolerate the dosage.

I had that happen to Sugar when she was spayed, but they got her going pretty quick and didn't do the surgery. I'm trying to remember how out of it she was. It didn't seem like an abnormal recovery time, but it may have been that she just stopped breathing and didn't have her heart stop beating. I would think that would give his poor brain a spin. (Sugar did go back for surgery and just got a lower dose, she was fine).

If its an IV as in intervenous drip in a blood vessel, its definitely a vet thing, but if its an 'under the skin' sub q infusion, he can be given a shot of fluids all at once and be sent home. Your vet can also show you how.

He needs to eat but you can do Critical Care feeding at home.

Bottom line will be what the Vet says re: the heart recovery and whatever other issues he may have.


sas :clover:
 
LOL! Sugar was 'our' bun at the time. But Dawn, do you remember if her heart stopped? I remember the Vet just saying she stopped breathing, but my memory is foggy. And do you remember how dopey she was?


sas :ponder:
 
Just so it is not confusing, Pip and I are talking about the same bun. We did a joint rescue venture and Sugar started off living with Pip and then a year or so later, she moved over to my house. Pip was her caretaker at the time of the spay, so she would remember better than me how she was after the surgery. I'm pretty sure her heart did come to a stop though, that is what I remember the vet telling me.

But still, good pain management and fluids are probably going to be the best route to getting him feeling better. Sounds like your vet has a good handle on the situation, so have a chat with them and see what they think.

-Dawn
 
I just got back from visiting him, whew that was tough :(

Well his heart didnt completely stop as far as we know but it was very slow, they gave him oxygen but im not sure of all the details of the recessition..

I talked with the vet and she said he still has a 50/50 chance, she wanted to keep an eye on him, shes giving him steroids, pain meds ect.

His eyes are open, nose twitching he will hold his head up a little but he doesnt stand or move his legs at all unless you touch his feet then he kindof pulls them back, when she would try to set him up he just slumps over to his side. Its kindof like he had a stroke or has swelling on the brain, hopefully he will continue to improveas the brain heals.




 
I am sending my thoughts out to you both.

This is such a hard time, and I am sending my thoughts for a good recovery for him.
 
Goodness! That must be very scary and I am hoping for the best for him and you. I think that the vet has a good idea of what to do. It sounds like he has some brain damage, probably swelling-related, but it may not go away depending on how long his brain was deprived of oxygen. He may be a special needs bunny in terms of accommodating his ability to move around, etc. I think the best resource on this at this time is the vet, plus the recommendation to make sure he's on some strong pain meds. They may worry about the pain meds "doping him up" and making it hard to tell if his coordination/other mental function has returned, so that is also a concern. Best wishes sent your way.
 
Thank you for the support!! as long as he can regain some movement, eat and drink Ill give him every chance I can.
 
Good news he accepted some pellet groul and is starting to kick his back legs!

I think that the steroids are for swelling on his brain but I could be wrong, its hard retain info when your balling your eyes out. He was in such bad shape she really didnt have much to loose by trying..
 
Well....as far as steroids, there are two thoughts on that. First, steroids have fallen from favor from most of the upper echelon vets. We haven't used them in years in wildlife and the general feeling overall is that they have very little value and a lot of potential downside. But the other line of thought, maybe part of this is just habit and partdesperation, but most vets feel that you should never let anything die without steroids (just a general comment not directed particularly at this case). While your vet may feel the steroids are necessary, we have for years, responded to unhappy brains by using anti-inflammatories and sedation. Our experience with steroids, especially in rabbits, is they depress the immune system response so drastically that opportunistic infections are allowed to develop. Since all medical treatments are trade offs....the trade that needs to be considered here is if there is any potential benefit to using the steroid and what is the possibility of containing any resulting infections (bacterial or otherwise...especially E Cuniculi).

While I would probably not use steroids in this situation, I am not a vet nor do I know all the particulars of the potentialbrain injury. I do know in the cases we have worked here (birds, squirrels and cottontails) that the NSAIDs and sedation worked wonders. Might be something to at least discuss with your vet along with the potential for immune suppression with the steroids. And I would personally be very interested in knowing more details about the procedures that were performed. I think it would be an excellent learning opportunity for all of us....if you feel like sharing.

Randy
 
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