From:
sukiec@optonline.net
Date: 2004-05-16 17:10:58 UTC
Subject: RE: What to expect after surgery
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <2191144.1084727458645.JavaMail.root@thallium.smartgroups.com>
Even though we've had some ferrets who were in rough shape we haven't lost anyone at home post op in something like 21 years of surgeries (Our first surgical experience was one year after first getting ferrets in the family, with a sterilization of someone's retired breeder ferret in heat who also had an injured eye which also got care, and who also wound up maybe the next year or the year after that needing anal gland surgery.). I think our success rate is because we tend to be very careful. We keep them with reduced access to activity (especially absolutely no climbing because the post-op deaths we have heard about in people's homes almost always tended to involve ferrets who were allowed to climb) for 10 days to 2 weeks. That time frame may be longer than is really needed, but we'd rather be careful for a few extra days than have something major go wrong. Preventing climbing (even of ramps) is, I think, one of the most important things we do post-op.