From:
"Danee DeVore"
Date: 2008-06-12 23:50:54 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Has anyone ever seen this?
To: <ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com>
I will start out by saying a tissue sample has been sent off for pathology,
so hopefully I will be finding out what I am dealing with. However, coming
across something new and different, I was wondering is anyone, particularly
the vets on this list, had even seen this before in a ferret?
Background =96 Monty is an almost 8 year old female ferret, in very good
condition for her age. She did have most of her tail amputated about 15
months ago, due to a bone cancer that occurred about halfway down her tail.
At the time, extra length was removed, and the bone near the end of what wa=
s
removed was not affected, so my vet felt that the cancer had been
successfully removed and should not reoccur.
Monty is fairly active, and has a good coat =96 in fact, her coat is curren=
tly
plusher and softer then many of my younger ferrets. Her appetite is good,
and her stools are normal. She shows no outward signs of illness.
This past weekend, we noticed a lump on her back. The lump was only
slightly raised, and not well defined. It was located slightly back from
her shoulder blades, and to the right of the spine, and over the ribcage..
It was solid and unmovable. It was oblong in shape, and maybe =BD to =BE i=
nch
long, and about =BC to 3/8 inch wide.
Yesterday, I took Monty to the vet. On physical examination he noted that
her spleen was small, and none of her lymph nodes were enlarged or hard.
Her heart sounded good.
He first tried to do a needle aspirate of the lump. He was able to remove
some tissue, and when we looked at it under the microscope all we saw were
fat cells and red blood cells. Thinking the lump might be a lipoma, he
offered to try and remove it to be sure.
It was not a lipoma. In fact, we almost couldn=92t find it (I was present =
for
the surgery). My vet had cut through all the muscle, and was down to the
ribs before we found it. It looked like white strands of something running
perpendicular to the ribs, both above and below them. Because of the close
proximity to the lungs, my vet was afraid to try and remove it, for fear of
puncturing the lung. He was able to cut a piece of it off, and that is
being sent to Dr. Mike Garner at Zoopath for examination. And so, he
stitched her back together, and after a recovery period, sent her home with
me. He said the white tissue felt like cartilage. He had never seen
anything quite like it in a ferret.
The good news is that Monty tolerated all this very well. She was groggy
most of yesterday afternoon, but by last night was back to her normal self,
and wanted her time out to run, explore and play. She continues to have a
good appetite, and otherwise seems healthy and normal.
When we get the path results back, I will try and remember to post them.
Danee DeVore
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