Precision surgery saves rabbit’s shattered leg

A miniature rabbit is jumping for joy once more after a team of veterinary specialists collaborated to save his badly broken leg.

Brumpy, a five-year-old male dwarf breed rabbit, was referred to the University of Edinburgh’s Hospital for Small Animals with a comminuted antebrachial fracture in his left forelimb.

The case was technically demanding owing to the patient’s small size, fragile radius and ulna, which measured around 2.5mm thick at the fracture site, and the highly fragmented nature of the fracture. Collectively, these factors created a significant risk of iatrogenic shatter and limited options for fixation.

A multidisciplinary team from the Hospitals’ exotic animal, surgical and anaesthesia services worked together to plan and perform surgery to repair the rabbit’s fracture and to save the limb.

Precision surgery

Orthopaedic surgeons stabilised the rabbit’s limb under general anaesthesia with a reusable stainless-steel external skeletal fixation system, the Fixateur Externe du Service de Santé des Armées (FESSA). The frame’s small size – 4.5cm in length – and light weight were key considerations in the patient who weighed less than 2kg. The FESSA’s modular design allowed rapid application and subsequent adjustment.

Full recovery

Brumpy was hospitalised for several days post-surgery for supportive care and pain relief, then discharged with a home plan of restricted exercise. The external fixator was removed under general anaesthesia 8 weeks later, followed by a 6–8 week graduated return to normal activity.

His owner reported how happy they were to see their rabbit back to performing binkies - joyful leaps and twists that rabbits do when they feel happy, excited and safe. 

This case highlights that, with appropriate anaesthesia, implant selection and post-operative support, limb salvage can be achievable even in very small rabbits with technically difficult fractures.