Spay death, advice please

[AnnieNMolly]

Hi all I need some advice from some other bunny owners on what y'all would do in this situation...

I adopted 2 female rabbits (sisters) when they were about 2 months old. At 6 months old (a little shy of 6 months) I took them to get spayed, and one of them did make it through the surgery. When she passed the vet called and asked if we wanted to continue with the second and I told them to hold off for now. To give y'all an idea of what happened, they said the surgery went perfectly fine, but when they were waking her up her heart rate dropped and they gave her something to help bring it up and stabilize it and she died. They did CPR for 15 minutes but they were not able to revive her.

They both battled runny noses about a month before but it seemed to have cleared up. I sometimes wonder if she still had some sort of respiratory problem and couldn't breath on her own when they woke her up. I'm also afraid for my other bunny if it's some sort of genetic heart condition.

I hate to say it was vet error because I know anytime any thing goes under anesthesia it can be risky, but I'm unsure if I should take my other one there. I asked about the risks before the surgery and she said she had never had any pass away on her. I don't think it was carelessness, and I know the vet was upset too because she was crying when my husband went to pick her up. I really like them at the vet office. They seem very knowledgeable, they handle the bunnies very well, and they are recommended and used by a large local rabbit rescue near me. They were also the most expensive for spays when I was shopping around (not that cost makes them good, but my point is I didn't choose just any vet just to save a buck, I went with who I thought would do the best job even though they were almost double the price).

I just need advice... If y'all were in this situation would you take your other rabbit back to them? How common is this?

Also how long can I wait to get her spayed? Is a year old too long? Every time I think about scheduling her spay I get sick to my stomach thinking about it after losing Molly, I don't want to go through that again.

 

[JBun]

I'm so sorry you lost your little girl bun. I know too well what that feels like and how heartbreaking it is. I had a buck die in recovery after being neutered. I had a necropsy done and the cause was found to be an underlying e. cuniculi infection that affected his liver, kidney, heart, lung, and brain function, though he didn't show any outward signs of illness that he had this prior. He was young and so I didn't get a blood test done, which likely would have showed impaired liver and kidney function.

I had another buck that almost died when they started to put him under prior to the neuter, and thankfully they were able to revive him. He remained unneutered for a while. I was scared to death to get him neutered after that and waited over a year before I got the courage up again. I still wanted to get him neutered as he was on his own and I wanted him to be able to live with the rest of his family group. I had previously gone to the low cost spay and neuter clinic, and they were fairly experienced with rabbits even though this had happened to him. I had had several rabbits spayed/neutered there previously without issue. But I wasn't going to take him back there and instead I found the best rabbit vet in our area(and most expensive). I was afraid he had some underlying condition, so a blood test was done to rule that out, which showed nothing abnormal. He went through his neuter just fine, without issue. He was given an IV this time, but I think the difference with this vet was that they intubated him for his neuter, where I don't believe the low cost clinic did. He's a small nethie type rabbit and has a bit of restricted breathing due to an abnormality in his air passages. I'm just guessing here, but I think the first time the neuter was attempted, his restricted air passages became a problem when he went under anesthesia and his airway became obstructed which eventually caused his heart to stop, and the second attempt at his neuter he was fine because he had a breathing tube in his throat, ensuring that his airway was protected. So I can't say for sure that was what made the difference, but I firmly believe it to be the case.

So maybe check with your vet and see if a blood test was done on your rabbit and if they intubated your bun for her surgery. If neither was done, that is what I would suggest for your other bun if and when you decide to get her spayed. Have blood tests done prior to make sure she doesn't have an underlying problem. And if they don't intubate, ask them to and make sure they are experienced doing that kind of thing on rabbits, or if not find a better rabbit vet that does intubate and has plenty of experience doing it with rabbits. You will also want to ensure that your bun doesn't have a respiratory infection at the time and is in good health.

It's a hard thing to decide to have done because of the risks involved. So you really have to weigh the risks of surgery with the high risks of females developing uterine cancer. I would want to wait a while too, before trying again. There's not as high a risk for young females developing cancer, so I can't imagine waiting a year would cause any problems. But that's just an opinion. Only you can decide what will be best. Whatever you decide, best of wishes and I hope everything is fine with your bun, and that she has a long happy life with you.

 

[AnnieNMolly]

Thank you so much for all of the information. I can't imagine going through all of that and then almost going through it again. It's so scary with these fragile little guys. I guess it's more common than I realize. It's interesting that you mention being intubated because I kept thinking "I wonder if she was intubated and if she was maybe this wouldn't have happened." I have SO MUCH guilt thinking that I rushed the surgery and that the respiratory issue wasn't cleared. I can't get the image of her possibly suffocating out of my head. Even though I took the vet's advice that it was ok to go forward with it, I still blame myself so much. I have more questions for the vet and that is a good one to ask. At the time I wasn't thinking clearly enough to ask questions. I know for sure there was not blood tests done before the surgery so that is another great suggestion. I appreciate the suggestions and I will be sure to ask these things once I work up the courage to to get my other one spayed! Thank you so much!

 

[RavenousDragon]

I am so sorry to hear about your little bun. It's always hard to lose a guy under anesthesia.

I've always been an advocate of pre-anesthetic blood work for all patients- bunnies included! Like Jbun said, some vets intubate and do blood work, some do not. Some put in IV catheters, some do not. Those can all increase the success (but never guarantee it) of a surgery. Unfortunately, every once in a while, even a perfectly healthy animal can have a bad reaction (whether it is allergic, or otherwise) to an anesthetic agent. But this is fairly rare, particularly as we increase our technology and drug availability.

If the veterinarian you used has truly never lost a rabbit under anesthesia, I would assume it would be more of an allergic reaction type of response, not the fault of the veterinarian. That being said, I would opt for blood work for your other bunny.

Also, as J bun already stated, waiting until she's a year old is not too old. I do personally recommend spaying still, but do wait until you are ready. Let us know how she does if you do get her spayed!!!

 

[AnnieNMolly]

Thank you RavenousDragon! I'm definitely going to make sure we get blood work done. I might even get blood work done at another vet to get a second opinion and make sure everything is safe. It may seem extreme but it's my little baby and I can't imagine just setting her up for something without doing the research. Sadly I feel like the first one was my fault and I can't let that happen with this one! I have so much guilt from Molly and I miss her so much. Thank you so much for your input!!