Message Number: SG7720 | New FHL Archives Search
From: "Amy Hartnett"
Date: 2004-02-05 05:55:52 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] death from adrenal surgery
To: <ferrethealth@smartgroups.com>
Message-ID: <4347180.1075960715785.JavaMail.nobody@chromium.smartgroups.com>

Actually, the vet doesn't know the cause of death. He was just guessing that
it was a blood clot to the brain. The main thing he was concerned about was
the high pcv count, he never saw that before and couldn't find any
references of a ferret having that. The tumor was removed easily so it
wouldn't be from the surgery itself.

When I saw her she knew who I was because she held on to my finger and
turned her head when I moved across the room. I thought she didn't know I
was there until she did that. I don't know when she actually would have died
on her own; she was suffering so much I had her euthanized so it was
different than with Lancelot. The vet didn't know what was causing the GI
bleeding either.

I thought her symptoms sounded like adrenal crisis - I read they start
around 12 hrs. after surgery and it usually happens when large tumors are
removed, even if the other adrenal isn't atrophied. What is DIC? I've never
heard of that. Would that cause the other symptoms too - the weakness,
twitches, crying, low glucose, high pcvs? Don't vets normally do a
necroscopy when the cause of death is unknown and they have permission from
the owner?

Thanks so much for your help.