This is the story of Rose the 5 year old mini lop Rabbit. Rose was brought into WellPet st Clair on the 22nd of March. She had received a mysterious injury to her left eye causing it to prolapse from its socket. Dr Amelia examined the eye and Rose. Although Rose seemed in good health, Rose’s damaged eye was no longer viable, she was uncomfortable and in pain.

Dr Amelia recommended her eye be removed. Rose would need surgery and would live out the rest of her days with one eye. Although Rose might look a little strange, being a domestic pet rabbit meant that having one eye would have little effect on her living a healthy life.

Rose was therefore admitted into hospital and given pain relief, anti- in ammatories and antibiotic eye cream for her eye whilst Dr Amelia prepared for her surgery. Because Rose was entire, Dr Amelia also recommended she be desexed during her surgery as well.

Did you know rabbits and some other pocket pets should never be fasted prior to an anaesthetic? Unlike dogs and cats, rabbits for example, have a very high metabolism, they require constant nourishment to ensure their gut ora

stays healthy and their gastrointestinal track remains “active”. if this does not remain active, rabbits can quickly stop eating become very ill, anorexic and they can also suffer from liver damage. so ensuring they continue to eat prior to their anaesthetic, ensures that after an anaesthetic, they return to normal eating habits quickly and with little complication.

Rose was placed under general anaesthetic, the hair from her left eye and abdomen were carefully clipped and prepared with antiseptic by Nurse Emily. she was then moved into a sterile theatre room where Dr Amelia performed both her surgeries.

Nurse Emily remained by Rose’s side. she closely monitored Rose’s anaesthetic as well as her heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, breathing and ECG. Rose’s damaged eye was carefully removed. haemostatic gauze was placed in the empty eye socket and her eyelids were sewn shut. she was then desexed through an incision in her abdomen. Her uterus and ovaries were removed.

Rose recovered well with no complications. she was transported to our 24hr iCU service at WellPet Vets Nepean in the WellPet Animal Ambulance for overnight monitoring. This was to ensure Rose ate every few hours; a special recovery food called ‘critical- care’. This food needed to be syringe fed every few hours to ensure her Gi tract kept moving. The next day, Rose was transported back to WellPet Vets st Clair to continue her care. she began eating her regular diet of hay and pellets and to our surprise absolutely loved when it was time for her anti- in ammatory and pain medications! She made a fast and smooth recovery and in as little as two days from her surgery was outside in an enclosed rabbit hutch enjoying the sunshine and eating fresh grass!