LAUSR

Dental disease is a common presentation in pet rabbits1,2 and facial abscesses are often an associated complication.3 Dental diseases may be either congenital or acquired.4, 5 Acquired dental disease is often caused by a combination of factors including reduced chewing,6 reduced dietary abrasiveness,7 and a diet rich in carbohydrates and poor in fibres.8 Other causes such as metabolic bone disease,4 trauma, neoplasia and infections have also been reported.6, 9 Insufficient wear and overgrowth of the teeth may eventually lead to malocclusion, periapical infections and odontogenic abscesses.5, 10, 11 Abscesses in rabbits present as a large and thick fibrous capsule with poor vascularisation that antibiotics penetrate with difficulties.6 Moreover, unlike other companion animals, such as cats and dogs, rabbits lack the lysosomal enzyme that digests dead cells transforming them into a liquid form.6, 12 The purulent material in rabbits is therefore thick and dense making it more difficult to drain when the abscess is lanced. For these reasons, treatment of abscesses in rabbits can be challenging and unrewarding often leading to the euthanasia of the animal.13 A combination of surgical and medical treatments is …