From:
"Susan Liszewski DVM"
Date: 2008-03-27 14:37:08 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Re: Anemic, enlarged spleen and bone marrow problems
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
If she is that bad you have nothing to lose in trying surgery but you
might lose her. I would first check a clotting profile. I would
also transfuse her before. See if a transfusion makes her feel
better. If it does then you should try to remove the spleen. It is
a risk but sometimes you have to take a justified risk. If you do
nothing you will lose her if you do surgery you might lose her but
you also might save her. It is al like of informed consent, you
decide. There could be an immune mediated problem too and the spleen
could be removing the cells from her body making it worse. The
spleen is a filter and filters the blood cells. Yes it can also
throw the body into a collapse due to such a large loss when you
remove the spleen which is why a transfusion is important. Coag is
important too since if she isn't coagulating properly it could make
it worse. That is the only time I lost one, the owner wanted to do
it we understood the risk but the ferret was pretty sick.
Good Luck.
Dr. Sue
--- In ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com, "Irene" <irenekuik@...> wrote:
>
> I know I wrote a few days ago asking for help in reference to what
I
> should do with my baby boy who has a low red and white and enlarged
> spleen.
> I normally would have preferred to not bother you all, as I am
> certain you must have numberous issues on your hands at this point,
> but mine is somewhat of an emergency and I had hoped with all my
> heart that you might be able to provide some guidance or
suggestions
> as to wither there is anything I can do at this point to save my
> little baby Frostie Ferret.
>
> To sum up most of this quickly, he started losing weight and
showing
> less interest in his food, which is what caused the concern and why
I
> took him to the vet. They did ultra sounds, bone marrow tests, they
> took samples from spleen, lymphnode, blood work and everything came
> back normal other then the fact that his spleen is enlarged. They
> ended up doing another bone marrow test as it came back
contaminated
> with blood and it showed that Frosties bone marrow is not producing
> the red blood cells as it should. He is showing anemic with low
white
> and red cell count. He is lethargic and has lost a great deal of
> weight to this point. They do not want to take out his spleen
because
> he they are worried that the bone marrow itself has an issue and it
> could cause him to die with the bone marrow not producing the red
> blood cells needed, yet you can see the discomfort and pain when he
> walks and tries to go to the bathroom. He wobbles back and forth
and
> cannot maintain much strength anymore.
>
> My question to you is Are there any options possible to save my
baby
> at this point and what should we be doing next. I love him so much
> and money is not the issue here as no money is worth as much as the
> life of my baby no matter how expensive it can be. They have
> suggested going in surgically to see if they can find cancer or
> anything that can show why this is going all wrong. We even did a
> blood transfusion from one of my other males and the blood that was
> put into Frostie was basically destroyed as his body killed off all
> the white blood cells that were put inside of him in the other
> ferrets blood.
>
> Please help me if you can to determine what can save him, if
> anything. I just want my baby back and healthy and I do not want
him
> suffering anymore. I plead with you for any help or suggestions you
> can make as Canada is not the most knowledgeable in these
situations
> and this is the first time this vet (who is head of a Veterinary
> College) has actually been faced with a situation like this.
>
> Please help if you can.
>
>
>
> IRENE
>
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