From:
"possum1213"
Date: 2008-10-27 11:24:10 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Swollen Prostate Update
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
I thought I would post an update on Madison since I had one person
emailing me yesterday who suggested we should have done immediate
surgery. (suggesting this 10 days after the initial incident was a
litte humorous to me)
For a little history, Madison is the little guy (+/- 4 y.o.) who came
from the local shelter very emaciated (just a little over a pound) in
mid-August. At the time, he had several bald spots (no hair loss on
his hind quarters or tail) and coarse fur, but his fur started coming
in when he was given a regular food supply, so I dismissed the
possibility of adrenal disease. On Thursday morning (11 days ago) I
realized he was unable to urinate and rushed him to my vet (24/7
clinic) at 5:30 a.m. The on-call vet came in, lightly sedated him,
and was able to successfuly express his bladder. He was left there
for my primary ferret vet to see him when he came in during regular
hours.
My vet called mid-morning and said that he wanted to give him a
Lupron injection. They were on order, but he had none at the
moment. I called a ferret vet in a nearby city and she over-nighted
Lupron to us. Madison was given the Lupron (1mg, 4 month depot)
around noon the next day. In the meantime, and for several days
afterward, his bladder was expressed on a regular basis. At this
point, since the Lupron was in him, and since he was being
successfully expressed regularly, we decided to give him over the
weekend, planning on surgery the following Monday or Tuesday. I took
him home Friday night and expressed his bladder around the clock,
every 3-5 hours. I gave him Clavamox twice daily, and a very small
dose of Metacam daily for pain. He continued to eat well, completely
on his own. By Sunday, I was letting him out to play with some of
his friends, though I did keep him caged separately for monitoring.
I spoke to my vet midday on Monday (I'm off work Sat, Sun, Mon) and
told him I was dropping Madison off on Tuesday to have his bladder
expressed during the day. He was going to examine him and probably
take him into surgery that day. [Because surgery won't shrink the
prostate immediately (assuming it's swollen rather than cystic), I
was trying to figure out how he would be expressed afterward until
the prostate shrunk. A urinary catheter had been unsuccessfully
attempted the first day.]
On Monday night, I realized that he was finally going on his own;
small amounts, but going nonetheless. Who thought I would be so
excited to see a ferret pee! The Lupron had finally kicked in enough
to shrink his prostate so he could go, about 84 hours after the
injection. On Tuesday, my vet confirmed that he was going enough to
discontinue expressing him. It had become uncomfortable for Madison
so I was doubly glad he could go on his own.
Because of this, we decided to give Madison a few days to recover
from his ordeal and scheduled him for bloodwork today/Monday, and
surgery on Wednesday. He is active and eating well, so I think the
decision is a good one. Because of his past malnutrition, and not
knowing what damage there could be from that, and his prostate
ordeal, we felt this was the best decision for him. I hope these
extra days for him to get strong will get him successfully through
the surgery. How we treat him afterward will depend on what Doc
finds. I am praying that his bloodwork will be good enough for him
to undergo surgery. If not, we will have to take another route.
For those who think we should have rushed into surgery with him, I
have to rely on my own knowledge and my vets' experience and advice,
rather than anecdotal advice based on one or two experiences. Each
ferret, and each case, is different. I think the fact that he is
active, eating, and doing well now is a testament to our good care of
him.
Whatever the final outcome, I am comfortable with all of the
decisions we have made. I know he could die on the table, or shortly
afterward, but I feel good about how we have handled this every step
of the way. And, believe me, I felt like giving up a few times,
concerned with both the enormity of it and the costs. It's amazing
how much a night's sleep helps to clarify things.
It is important for all of us to have a good ferret vet and to
educate ourselves so that we can make informed decisions. If you
don't trust your vet, you can never have a successful working
relationship. I am fortunate to have a very experienced ferret vet
who becomes more knowledgeable every day, one who isn't afraid to say
he doesn't know something, and one who is willing to consult with
others. And, for those cases that may be beyond my primary ferret
vets' (there are actually two ferret specialist in my vet practice)
expertise, I am fortunate to have a top ferret specialist only a
couple of hours away.
Katharine
Florida
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