From:
Sukie Crandall
Date: 2003-07-01 22:30:08 UTC
Subject: Chiclet is worse and here are some of her pathology results
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-id: <a06001803bb27bbb7f95b@[10.0.1.38]>
I'll try very hard to get this right; I'm very exhausted.
Chiclet is now in the animal hospital on IV antibiotics. At least
our vet no longer has to sleep on the floor on such nights; we gave
the hospital a futon we had in storage in the condo basement.
Hopefully, Chiclet will bounce back some. If she starts chewing her
lines that will be a good sign and then she will come back here and
be set up on the dining room table with IV and pump.
All signs point to some form of massive infection and celluitis. The
tissues have been described as looking "melted" from the celluitis.
The node was taken after she had again begun fevering after we'd
managed to stop that for a while and get down the size of the node.
Amazingly, she still is not showing pain, but she is exhausted and
doing badly, especially with that one leg. I don't now how we've all
kept her alive so long, but we still have hopes of finding what this
is, finding something that will cure it, and giving this little 6
month old her life back. One of the things being tested for would
require a mercy shot.
We do NOT feed raw meats or milk which are the usual routes for
ferrets to get Mycobacteria, but if I recall right wasn't there
someone who ran into Mycobacterium avium that was thought to be from
wild bird droppings accidentally brought in on shoes?
Tonight we won't be on shifts for the first time in a month. This
last week it had gotten to the point where I was sometimes (including
last night which is why I am blabbering so much) up to 5 a.m. and
then would wake Steve.
Pathology Report (I'll leave out the stuff you know from past Chiclet
posts like history):
Clinical Diagnosis: Open.
Gross: Received in formalin is one tissue 2 cm in greatest dimension
that is processed in one block.
Microscopic: The biopsy specimen represents a broad circumferential
zone of pyogranulomatous inflammation surrounding a hyperplastic
lymph node. Inflammation is predominantly macrophages and
neutrophils with occasional lymphocytes and plasma cells. No
infectious agents are seen.
Diagnosis: Severe pyogranulomatous perinodal cellulitis, popliteal region.
Comment: This is an inflammatory process. No infectious agents were
seen, but this lesion likely has a significant infectious component,
particularly bacterial infection. Some special stains are pending to
check for mycobacteria and fungi, and an addendum will follow. There
is no evidence of neoplasia.
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That's it so far; it is terrible for this little 6 month old girl to
be so terribly ill.