From:
Bruce Williams, DVM
Date: 2001-04-06 00:02:00 UTC
Subject: Re: Bladder problems URGENT
--- In Ferret-Health-list@y..., terry@r... wrote:
> I have a 4.5 year old male ferret who has been in excellent health
up
> until three days ago. He began displaying problems urinating and
not
> pooping either. He stared to look listless and was taken to the
> vet. They xrayed him and found what appeared to be a large mass
off
> his bladder. They tried putting a needle into the mass and came out
> with urine. He started getting worse so we opted for immediate
> surgery. They found what appeared to be a second bladder that was
> attached to the normal bladder. They removed it and tied it off.
> Urine was going from one to the other and he was unable to extract
> it. They sent the second bladder in for test and it came back with
> nothing abnormal. Surgery was Tuesday night. He has been on
> antibiotics and an IV ever since. He is still listless and has not
> eaten since the surgery. We have tried all of his favorites. He
has
> never bitten but bit the vet and tried to bite my daughter who is a
> kennel worker at the vets office when she was cleaning him off.
> (probably has just had it with being touched when he is hurting)
His
> temp is down between 92-96 degrees and has not come up since
surgery.
> Our vet said he had never seen anything like this before. Any help?
Accessory bladders, also known as cystic diverticula or the "triple
bladder syndrome" in ferrets is an uncommon developmental problem.
The cystectomy that was perfomed is the correct approach.
The persistently low temp and listlessness is not encouraging,
however. I would woner if there might be a leak from the surgery
site, or if the ferret is now having trouble urinating - the majority
of these cases do well after surgery. A CBC and a chemostry panel is
probably warranted in this case.
With kindest regards,
Bruce H. Williams, DVM, DACVP
Join the Ferret Health List at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Ferret-Health-list