From:
"Tressie"
Date: 2008-10-24 23:59:21 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Re: Rapidly swelling abdomen - update
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
An update on Tiramisu. She underwent exploratory surgery October 18th.
Given the findings she was euthanized. She died peacefully in my arms.
Quality of life was considerably diminished because she was experiencing
severe pain that was only managed with powerful opiates and she had
developed total blindness within a few days. She was already deaf.
Pre-surgical panel (Canadian/European values) =96 abnormal values:
ELEVATED ALT 625 IU/L =96 normal values 20-180
ELEVATED AST 171 IU.L =96 normal values 10-170
LOW RBC 6.1 =96 normal values 7.0-13.0
LOW Hemoglobin 98 =96 normal values 120-219
LOW Hematocrit 0.30 =96 normal values 0.36 - -.64
RBC Morphology
Anemia =96 mild
Polychromasia =96 0-1 /HPF
Response to anemia - poor
Necropsy results:
Diagnosis: Low-grade multicentric lymphoma and severe lymphocytic
plasmacytic and eosinophilic enterteritis (IBD).
The finding of IBD has stumped both my vet and me because she had no
clinical symptoms of IBD whatsoever. Other than her bout with a
bleeding ulcer in July she did not have any vomiting, stools were
normal, and she continued eating until the end. She was in her own cage
the past week, so her stools were easily monitored.
Lymphoma is thought to be a sequela of chronic untreated IBD.
Therefore, the discovery of IBD is particularly distressing because she
did not have any overt clinical symptoms of the disease.
Perhaps the bleeding ulcer episode was in fact an IBD flare-up??? I am
devastated that she wasn't treated for IBD earlier - no one to blame
since there was no way of knowing. Without any clinical symptoms - how
could anyone possibly know?? (Rhetorical). Bigger mystery is why she
did not have any symptoms of IBD?
Tressie
--- In ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com, "Tressie" <tressiedu@...> wrote:
>
>
> I have a 2 =BD year-old sprite Tiramisu, who I posted about in July
for
> a bleeding ulcer. ...
>
> Of greater concern is that this past weekend she developed progressive
> swelling in her abdomen. When she tried climbing over something while
> sliding on her belly =96 she screamed. It came on very rapidly,
> literally in days and now her abdomen is quite distended. It feels
hard
> like a swollen balloon and is evenly distributed.
>
... X-rays showed a moderately enlarged spleen (not uncommon) but not
large
> enough to explain the abdominal swelling. Her heart appeared normal on
> x-rays, no heart murmur detected. There was a suspicious area on the
> x-ray but inconclusive because it was hard to determine what it was.
> Ascites was not indicated in the films so a needle aspirate was not
> done. Mesenteric lymph node is massive.
>
>
...> She still has a good appetite for the duck soup I make her. She is
> urinating normally and stools are a bit soft but otherwise normal. No
> vomiting. Some hind-end weakness but not pronounced. She is clearly in
> discomfort and whimpers often when she is shifting around trying to
get
> comfortable. She has the half-closed eyes indicative of pain.
>
>
>
> My question =96 what can cause such a swelling to come on literally
in
> a few days? She is too old for juvenile lymphoma, which I understand
> progresses quickly.
>
> Thank you.
>
> Tressie
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