Mo, my one-year-old rabbit, has
developed a facial asymmetry
Sophia Chou
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Mo is a
highly valued member of my family. He is currently displaying high energy
levels and his daily food intake is considerable. Here are some
details about Mo's illness:
History: When Mo was a little rabbit (about
1month-old, I found he had a rhinitis. At first the nasal is yellow, and then
it changed into transparent and colorless. Because he was so young, the vet
dared not use antibiotics. Instead, I gave him Echinacea drops for
children's use. When spring came and the day got warmer, his nose was ok. In
addition, he had no exposures to other rabbits, patient and wild environment,
also no trauma.
Physical exam: The vet did a physical exam. And
Mum and I check his body every day. He is active and happy. No head hilt, no
loss of balance, no weakness, no paralysis, no blindness, no altered
appetite, no tremors or no seizures. In addition to the clinical sign of facial
paralysis (like Horner's Syndrome mentioned in articles: a drooping eyelid,
sunken eye and relaxed third eyelid), but not as serious as 3 weeks ago and
his pupil is normal.
Tests: No CBC, Serum biochemistries and X-rays
so far. (They were done 3 months ago and the results were good.) As for other
exams mentioned in articles, such as serology for E. cuniculi, blood
testing for heavy metals, CT scan and MRI, they are not (yet) available in my
city and most veterinary places of China. Mo got a
facial asymmetry about 3 weeks ago, which the vet thought is caused by ear
infection. Mo's vet is majors in cat and dog and has little knowledge of
rabbit. This situation is not easy for us.
6 December 2012 Mum found the dropping of Mo's
right ear at night but she didn't know it was a sign
of Mo's illness. BTW, Mo's nose kept a little runny during this week,
especially in cold days.
7 December 2012 We observed the appearance of the
third eyelid on the right side of Mo's face and his right eye looked like a
little abnormal. This eye is runny. He ate and drank a lot but was not as
active as usual. Mo's face was like the bunny in the picture:
8 December 2012 The vet confirmed Mo's facial
asymmetry and he thought the cause was ear infection. Before he told me this
he checked Mo's ears with an otoscope and extracted a bit of secretions for
microscopic examination. The result showed "Malassezia++"
but there are no other bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus and Pasteurella
sp. So the vet thought infection is located in the outer ear and not very
serious. When the nurse washing Mo's ear with Epi-otic, I could see some dark
red things like blood crust from right ear but the left ear is clean. Both
ear had no smell. The vet also believed that the ear infection was related to
Mo's runny nose.
9 December 2012 Mo looked better than yesterday.
He played with us happily and ate much hay and some vegetables. It seemed
that his dropped ear became a little stronger. His nose was still runny but
the right eye was not. Here is the medication course:
8 December 2012: Baytril,
15mg, SC.
9-22 December 2012: Baytril,
15mg/day, PO. At beginning of the treatment, it seemed that Baytril worked so
my vet recommended continued use of this drug for 2 weeks.
16-22 December 2012: meloxicam, first day 1mg, other
days 0.5mg, PO for 7 days.
23 December 2012: Bicillin,
150000 IU once every 48 hours, SC. His right ear gets better and sometimes can keep
upright. But his right face still has the problem and sometimes his nose and
right eye is runny. My vet doesnt know how to deal with rabbit's facial
paralysis so he is pessimistic about prognosis. Mo's
treatment ended in January. His ears look normal now. And his face has
improved greatly although it still remains a little different. His appetite
is not influenced by antibiotic treatment. In a word, he's strong and
energetic now! Last weekend
Mo had a CBC exam and the vet checked his ear with an otoscope. He said Mo's
ear canal looked normal now. Here are two copies of result of CBC exam. One
is for this time and the other is for last year (at that time his ear canal
has no inflammation).
X-rays were not available because Mo did not
cooperate with us. The vet thought it required anesthesia. September
2013: One year later,
Mo has recovered well from his ear infection, his tilted ear and facial
paralysis. He will soon have an examination to confirm his good health. |
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