From:
williamsdvm@comcast.net
Date: 2003-04-19 02:55:08 UTC
Subject: RE: 2nd Request for Help - Kidney - Dr Williams?
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <5838830.1050720908949.JavaMail.root@scandium>
Dear Lin:
Both Sukie and Karin have brought up salient points, and the need for current bloodwork to assess kidney function is very important.
Without a measurement of the kidney to relate, it is very difficult, as both Sukie and Karin astutely pointed out , to tell whether we are dealing with one enlarged kidney, or one shruken one.
Enlargement is more common in female ferrets due to blockage of the ureter and inability for urine to flow down from the kidney. This usually arises from untreated (often silent) urinary tract infections. However, one would not expect kidney samples to be normal (although you don't mention what was sampled or how it was sampled.)
You can have one very small kidney (usually nonfunctional). In such cass, the other kidney will actually get larger over time to take up the extra work of filtering the blood and forming urine. However, the smaller kidney is often misshapen, discolored etc., and it is usually not a difficult call.
AS she is not doing well, and is becoming more lethargic, I think that some blood tests to ascertain whether the kidneys are working well are probably in order at this time.
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, DVM