From:
kosmiche@hotmail.com
Date: 2004-07-26 02:18:43 UTC
Subject: Splenomegaly inquiry
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <6043905.1090808323867.JavaMail.root@thallium.smartgroups.com>
I have a ferret of unknown age (found at the humane society, possibly 3-4 yrs) who has an extreme splenomegaly and after visiting 3 seperate vets, getting bloodwork done (normal in all aspects), and pondering what to do next, I have one small question...
Since an enlarged spleen is, in 95% of ferrets, not caused by anything other than helicobacter mustalae, would there be a problem in performing a splenectomy without examining any splenal tissue first? I ask because my current vet (the best for ferrets in Northern Arizona, as far as I can tell) has no idea what could cause the splenomagaly but stresses that a tissue sample may take awhile to get results back from (~2 weeks). Still, Nigel's condition seems to be quickly worsening and I would like to do the surgery as soon as possible.
If this case is caused by lymphosarcomy or another illness other than H.M., will the splenectomy worsen his condition further? Would it be worthwhile to take a biopsy of the spleen after removing it, or would that be too high a risk?
Thanks for any help,
Ian Price