From:
tom.dianora@decisionone.com
Date: 2001-10-25 12:39:00 UTC
Subject: special request
Hello, fellow ferret lovers:
My name is Tom Dianora, and at the suggestion of Mary at FerretRescue.com,
I have joined your group. Here is my request:
I have a very seriously ill ferret, but I am NOT asking for any direct
medical advice from you, but I am asking for some help that might affect the
course of her treatment. My veternarian at the Veternary Hospital of the
University of Pennsylvania (VHUP) is looking for a ferret cadaver in order to
study the feasability of a kidney transplant for my ferret. Let me explain:
On October 9th we took Shirley (one of our 5 ferrets) to a highly -skilled
ferret-wise local veternarian for an adreanalectomy. She had most of the
classic signs of adreanal disease, and the Tennessee test confirmed this.
During the surgery (which was on the right adreanal gland) complications arose,
and the surgeon was forced to clamp off the vena cava. As a result of this,
Shirley sustained some damage to her kidneys. On October 12th, we took her to
VHUP where she was admitted into intensive care suffering from renal failure.
An ultrasound of her abdomen showed that she had some clotting which had caused
the problems with her kidneys. She was put on intravenous fluids for 7 days and
her blood levels began to improve. She also received a blood transfusion from
one of her "brothers" from home and that also seemed to help. On October 23rd,
Shirley was able to come home to continue her treatment using fluid therapy
under the skin (sub-q). She seems to be slightly improving, but her levels are
still quite high. The vet staff at VHUP has decided to explore the possibility
of a renal transplant from one of her "brothers", but because this would be done
by a surgeon and not a ferret "expert", the surgeon needs the cadaver in order
to study where the kidney would be placed, where to attach the blood supply,
etc.
If you either have a ferret that you could donate to this cause, or if you
know of someone that does, please contact me by e-mail at
tom.dianora@d... If you know of any veternarians that have any
knowledge of this procedure, please let me know about that, too so I could
pass that on to the vets at VHUP.
I live in southern New Jersey, just east of Philadelphia, Pa. but I'm sure
that shipping could be arranged from another area.
I want to thank you in advance for any help you may offer.
Tom Dianora