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TWO RABBITS HAVE PUFFY CHEEKS---CHEEK ABSCESSES |
Dr Sing Kong Yuen, BVMS
(Glasgow), MRCVS First record: 9 March, 2009 11 December, 2020
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CASE 1. RIGHT
CHEEK ABSCESS IN A RABBIT |
Cheek abscesses are common in rabbits.
Thick sticky pus. The roots of the teeth are infected and the infected
impacted teeth will need to be extracted. However, it may not be possible
to take out the roots as the mouth access is difficult. Therefore, there
may be a recurrence of abscess. If the owner ignore the abscesses, they may swell considerably. By then, the rabbit is under great stress and may just die under anaesthesia or after surgery. This is a factor to be considered as many owners think that all pets will have no problem in anaesthesia. There will be deaths if the patient is in poor health and under great stress of infections. Nowadays there are safer anaesthesia for rabbits. Still, the owner needs to get the abscesses treated early. My practice is not to rush into surgery but to stabilise the rabbit for at least 24 hours and give antibiotic and painkiller injections. X-rays of the teeth are advised as the number of impacted cheek teeth and the extent of the infected jaw bone can be seen on X-rays. There are 6 upper cheek teeth and 5 lower cheek teeth on each side of the rabbit. When the rabbit stops eating
hay or is not given sufficient varieties of
hay or is not eating, the cheek teeth do not grind normally. The edges
of the cheek tooth forms spurs. This leads to malocclusion of the cheek
teeth. This malocclusion leads to abnormal pressure of the upper and lower
cheek teeth against one another. The pressure leads to tooth roots
being impacted, elongated and then inflamed. The inflammation leads to
infection in the roots and the surrounding jaw bone. The cheek teeth's root gets bacterial
infection and one or more jaw abscesses (swellings) are seen.
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CASE 2. TWO CHEEK ABSCESSES IN A RABBIT |
Consult your vet early when you see facial swellings in your rabbit. Please ensure that your rabbit has much hay daily. |
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