>Something you wrote in today's fml (below) raised a flag, and I don't
>want to cause hard feelings with my vet, who is highly regarded among fml
>members, and one of his vet techs reads the fml regularly.
 
>>I also can't prevent vets from using injectable anesthesia, or doing
>>abdominal surgery without appropriate fluid therapy and watchfulness for
>>hypothermia, but I do attempt to educate on these points whenever the
>>opportunity presents itself.
 
>I have been present for surgeries on three of my ferrets (I like to
>watch, I always learn something).  Each time, my ferret has been given
>an injection to knock him out before he is placed on the table with the
>isoflourane mask over his face.  Is this pre-injection not a good thing
>to do?
 
I generally recommend gassing frerrets down, either by facemask or in
a tank.  Injectable anesthetics are unpredictable in ferrets, and can
result in prolonged anesthesia.  Additionally, some of the commonly used
tranquilizers, such as acepromazine, predispose to hypothermia by causing
dilation of blood vessels around the body.  The nice part about simple gas
induction is that if you run into problems- you turn off the gas, pump up
the oxygen, and the animal comes up quickly.  The problem with injectable
anesthetics, is that once you administer them, you can't get them back.
(Some can be antagonized by other drugs, but most of the common injectable
anestheics or preanesthetics cannot.)
 
>After the surgery, I am handed my little patient so I can hold him until
>he comes around.  I have noticed that each of my ferret's little bodies
>have felt very cold immediately after surgery.  When they start to come
>around, they shiver a lot, and eventually warm up.  I worry about them
>getting so cold during surgery, and now your post has me thinking that I
>really have something to worry about!
 
All ferrets having abdominal surgery, including a spay, should be on some
type of heating pad.  Ferrets tend to become hypothermic readily during
surgery, and should be monitored after surgery until their temperature
returns to 100 degrees or higher.
 
>Lastly, what does "appropriate fluid therapy" during abdominal surgery
>consist of?
 
Fluid therapy in the form of either IV or subqu fluids should be
administered during surgery.  Ferrets which will not beable to eat or
drink following surgery - usually insulinomas) for 24 hours should receive
subcuatneous fluids during surgery and again after surgery which will
handle 24 hours of the animals needs.  For surgeries in which significant
bleeding is a possibility, an IV line should be placed.
 
>You may want to respond on the fml for the benefit of all, that's fine
>with me, as long as it's not obvious where these questions originated.
>Or, point me to something that you've already written on the subject.
 
This information is available on my web site at
http://www.afip.org/ferrets - in the section called "What's New in Ferret
Medicine" and was also published in the Vet Clinics of North America -
Exotic Animal Practice - January 2000 - in case your vet has a copy.
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, dVM
[Posted in FML issue 3248]