From:
auntiedeb99
Date: 2002-05-22 13:22:00 UTC
Subject: Polyps in ferrets (long message)
Hi-
I just joined this list because I have a problem with a ferret that I
cannot find any information about on the internet. Last Monday, I
woke up to find blood all over the ferret room floor and a bloody
mass
under Lily's tail seemed to be the culprit. (Lily is about 8 years
old and has insulinoma. She had a bout with ECE last October.)
Suspecting that it was a prolapsed rectum (although I had never seen
such a thing before), Lily was rushed to a vet. The vet immediately
took Lily to surgery, also believing it to be a prolapsed rectum.
However, it turned out to be a large polyp that was still connected
inside and hanging outside. The vet removed the polyp and sent it in
for testing. Lily has recovered nicely.
The good news is that this was the cause of Lily's increasingly bad
litterbox habits that we had been attributing to senility.
Last week the vet called to report that the polyp cannot be called
cancerous, but instead is called a pre-cancerous polyp. He claimed
this was good news. But, the lab was also planning to do a special
stain on the cells. Today he called back to report that the stain
showed there to be Lawsonia intracellularis present which apparently
is often a significant cause of these intestinal polyps. He
recommended treating with the antibiotic called chloremphenicol which
I will pick-up today.
I tried searching the internet about Lawsonia, but get mostly sites
about this bacteria in swine. Does anyone know anything about these
types of polyps? Are they likely to reoccur? Is there any way to
prevent them? Is this bacteria likely to cross-infect my other
ferret? Us? (I am currently pregnant.) Our dogs? Our cats? How
does a ferret get infected to begin with? Food? Other animals? Is
it common in soil?
Thanks so much for any help any of you can give me. I've read so
much
about insulinomas, adrenal disease, ulcers, lymphosarcoma, ECE, but
never about polyps and Lawsonia. I'm so confused!
Deb Adams & Little Peanut (my unborn baby)
Patch & Lily (Ferrets)
Tucson, AZ