Nasty crusty wound in a rabbit

Re: Nasty crusty wound in a rabbit

Stephen Courtney — Sat, 15 Nov 2014 20:45:33 GMT

We saw a rabbit with cutaneous lymphoma recently. It was diagnosed by cytology, technique was to press a clean slide lightly against a tacky raw area of skin and diff quick the results. Was pretty obvious what was wrong then - before it just looked like cheyletiella from hell then got scabbier and scabbier.

Re: Nasty crusty wound in a rabbit

Starling — Sat, 15 Nov 2014 18:55:33 GMT

Yes! I thought about Ehler-Danlos syndrome, it's weird but I also know a Shetland who probably has the syndrome. The owners told me that it happened to her once in the past but stitching up it went fine... (what doesn't help me to explain them why is being so difficult now...). It's been a long time since I last "cut" a rabbits' skin so I'm not sure if maybe is just a normal rabbit skin... But I'll keep Ehler-Danlos in mind.

Re: Nasty crusty wound in a rabbit

Stigen — Sat, 15 Nov 2014 15:57:34 GMT

Could it be Ehler Danlos syndrome? Saw that in a cat once, but never seen it in rabbits. Found this study on it where there is a descrbed incidence in rabbit;
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9413117

Re: Nasty crusty wound in a rabbit

Sarah Keir — Sat, 15 Nov 2014 14:05:50 GMT

Could it be come kind of fragile skin syndrome?

Re: Nasty crusty wound in a rabbit

Starling — Sat, 15 Nov 2014 12:34:38 GMT

Sorry I think I haven't explained the case very well. I'll start again.

This rabbit came with two wounds (avulsed skin) in her flanks which seemed traumatic. Another vet cut fur and unviable skin and advised to apply a clorhex dilution twice a day plus oral trimethoprim-sulf. A week later I did the recheck and the skin was so dry and crusty (I don't think it was necrotic). I decided to debride the wound under GA because the crust was so big that I thought it would take ages to heal by 2nd intention. When we clipped fur and everything it was worse than I thought. Moreover when I was stitching up the biggest wound it was totally a mess because the skin was breaking all time. The 2nd wound went OK.

Days later the rabbit came with another avulsed wound very similar to the ones at the begining. We supposed that this one was made by her. Owners don't want her to have another surgery (neither I) so I'm trying to debride the crusty zone with enzymatic ointments, hydrogel, etc. It's being a bit frustating for the owners who don't seem to understand that healing such wound takes a long time (and money issues, of course). Now all wounds are covered to avoid self trauma (wet to dry).

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures... but any advise about ointments, or any experiences healing skin wounds in rabbits will be very helpful.

Re: Nasty crusty wound in a rabbit

Anthony Dennison — Mon, 10 Nov 2014 09:46:26 GMT

What caused the wound? Could it be syphillis?

Re: Nasty crusty wound in a rabbit

Miriam Lodewyks — Sat, 08 Nov 2014 23:12:54 GMT

I second the physical debridement: remove surrounding fur, then debride all devitalised and purulent tissue thoroughly. If bunny won't sit still, a light sedative, or whiff of Isoflo, with a few drops of lidocaine might help. Swabs for culture, if owner willing to spend the money.

Re: Nasty crusty wound in a rabbit

Gillian Mostyn — Sat, 08 Nov 2014 11:16:47 GMT

Probably needs further investigation... Culture, biopsy etc?

Re: Nasty crusty wound in a rabbit

Will McMullan — Sat, 08 Nov 2014 10:25:31 GMT

Is there any necrotic or devitalised tissue? If so those areas are unlikely to heal without some form of debridement. This can be in the form of wet-to-dry dressings or surgical debridement under GA or heavy sedation. I would also be thinking about infection and whether or not you are able to get that under control with the treatments you have listed. Especially if it extends to the deeper tissues I would doubt it. Can you post some pictures?