Message Number: FHL12244 | New FHL Archives Search
From: "suedvm96"
Date: 2010-09-19 20:20:13 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Re: liver failure with blood work
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com

Might be a gallbladder issue. You might want to consider an exploratory. Since there was no ALT in the bloodwork can't tell about liver but he isn't anemic so I would not think hemolytic crisis. I think this one is the gall bladder and the GGT at 176 is consistent. They can get icteric and really sick. Two causes cancer or obstruction. Obstruction of just sludging can be fixed if it is secondary to cancer maybe not. You could explore or ultrasound but you might have to go in anyway. If money is not an issue ultrasound then surgery. If it is think about surgery.

Otherwise continue supplements and fluids but if the icterus and appetite worsens you may need to do something,

Best of Luck to you.

Dr. Sue
TLC First Animal Hospital
Chicago, IL 60631

--- In ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com, "miwok34" <miwok34@...> wrote:
>
> I need some advice or insight into what's going on with my 7 year old
> PVF ferret, Mojave.
> In late July/ early august Mojave started acting very lethargic and
> had a very bloated abdomen. I took him in for an emergency appointment
> one Sunday and the vet said that she felt a mass near his liver and did
> x-rays. She said the x-rays show that he has a mass near his liver that
> is pushing everything down. She also said that he does have a little gas
> but it's nothing to worry about. She sent him home with some Baytril and
> metacam.
> A few days later I took him to a ferret vet who said that he doesn't
> feel any mass. He did feel an enlarged spleen and we made an appointment
> to have him seen aghain by the vet in a month. He also had blood work
> done that was perfect.
> A few days after that Mojave got dehydrated and needed to be sub-q. We
> decided it was because I still had him on Baytril and so I stopped it
> and he seemed to do better.
> When we went back to see the ferret vet he noticed there was now an
> ulcer in his mouth. We went home with some Carafate, Amoxicillin, and
> pepcid. His bloodwork again came back perfect. However, a couple of days
> later he stopped eating and drinking and needed to be sub-q'd again. The
> vet then told me to take him off of everything.
> About a week later he started having black, tarry poops and started
> rapidly losing weight. He went to see the ferret vet this past Wednesday
> (2 days later) and was hospitalized for two days. While there the vet
> gave him (according to the bill) Vitamin B-Complex, Dextrose,
> Metronidazole 500mg/(5ml/ml), and Cefazolin injectable along with being
> sub-q'd once.
> Yesterday, when I spoke to the vet he said that he is very jaundiced
> and said that his liver values were through the roof.
> The blood work results were as follows:
>
> Test Results Reference Range
> HCT 64.1% high 30 - 45
> HGB 19.2 g/dl high 9 - 15.1
> MCHC 29.9 g/dl 29 - 37.5
> WBC 10.28 5.5 - 19.5
> Lymphs 0.96 0.4 - 6.8
> %LYMPHS 9.3%
> MONOS 1.35 0.15 - 1.7
> %MONOS 13.1%
> NEUT 7.64 2.5 - 12.5
> %NEUT 74.3
> EOS 0.27 0.1 - 0.79
> %EOS 2.6%
>
> BASO 0.06 0 - 0.1
> %BASO 0.6%
> PLT 180 175 - 600
> Retics 34.4
> %Retics 0.3%
> RBC 11.57 high 5 - 10
> MCV 55.4 fl 41 - 58
> MCH 16.6 pg 12 - 20
> RDW 16.6% low 17.3 - 22
> MPV 6.9 FL
> PDW 14.5%
> PCT 0.1%
>
> ALB 2.2 g/dl low 2.6 - 3.8
> ALKP 1063 U/L high 9 - 84
> ALT --.-U/L 82 - 289
> BUN/UREA 32 mg/dl 10 - 45
> Ca 9 mg/dl 8 - 11.8
> CHOL 395 mg/dl high 64 - 296
> CREA 0.4 mg/dl 0.4 - 0.9
> GGT 179 U/L
> GLU 98 mg/dl 94 - 207
> PHOS 6.5 mg/dl 4.8 - 8.9
> TBIL 21.3 mg/dl high 0.1 - 1
> TP 6.5 g/dl 5.2 - 7.3
> GLOB 4.3 g/dl high 1.8 - 3.1
> ALB/GLOB 0.5
> BUN/UREA 80
>
> Chloride 109 mmol/L low 112 - 129
> Potassium 5.5 mmol/L 3.5 - 5.8
> Sodium 161 mmol/L 150 - 165
>
>
> Because he was eating and drinking and was very alert the vet sent
> him home with some Liver Support that contains SAM-e, N-Acetyl
> L-Cysteine, L-Taurine, Zinc Ascorbate, Milk Thistle, Pyridoxine HCI,
> B-Complex Propriety Blend, and D-Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate as its active
> ingredients.
> I should also mention that he has been adrenal since February 2007
> and has been well controlled with Lupron Depot, Ferretonin implant, and
> Flutamide. Also that in July I moved from another place where he spent
> his entire life and that I also adopted a new younger ferret in April
> which may, I assume, be causing the stress that could have possibly led
> to his ulcer?
> Any help you can give me is very gratefully appreciated,
>
> Sheryl
>
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>




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