Corneal Abrasions – Rabbit

Corneal abrasions are occasionally encountered in pet rabbits usually as a result of injury on straw bedding (barley awns) or from injuries sustained from being chased by dogs or children. These can be confirmed by the instillation of fluorescein drops followed by examination with and without a cobalt blue filter over the light source after the excess fluorescein has been flushed away. Treatment is as for other mammals - repeated topical applications of antibiotics following sensitivity testing or, in the event of antibiotic sensitivity testing not being available, utilising an agent known to include Pasteurella multocida in its spectrum of activity. From clinical experience I prefer aqueous ophthalmic solutions preferably those containing hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (hypromellose), to ointments for the treatment of corneal injuries and abrasions and I recommend that applications should be repeated hourly or more frequently, but care must be taken not to cause stress with such frequent handling. Refractory cases can be treated surgically by surgical debridement of the ulcer margin and temporary tarsorrhapy or a nictitans flap (I prefer to place sutures through the cartilage of the membrana nictitans rather than attempt to pick up the very fine conjunctival epithelium of the membrana which tends to tear very easily in this species).