Dear Jeannie:
 
>... I have a ferret that will be 4 in April.  He had an enlarged
spleen that was removed a little over a week ago.  He also had an adrenal
gland removed.  It seems that he has a very unique condition.  My vet and
the specialists that she has conferred with have never heard of this
condition in a ferret, only in dogs and cats.  It is Lymphangiectasia....
>
>Taselhauf was doing really good after his surgery (eating well) until
>Friday.  All of a sudden he quit eating.  I am having to force feed him
>now.  I have all of his lab reports if there are any vets out there that
>might need to see them.  I appreciate any help that anyone can give me.
>My vet says that this might be a case for the books if no-one has ever
>seen this in a ferret before.
 
Lymphangiectasia is a poorly defined condition in dogs and to a lesser
extent, cats and other domestic species.  The name is actually a
description of the disease, as we don't currently know what is the cause
in most cases.  The name is derived from "ectasia" meaning swelling of
the "lymph" vessels in the intestine.  It can be seen in association with
severe inflammation of the intestine, and I have seen it in several chronic
ECE cases with marked inflammation.  The cysts are generally swollen and
blocked lymphatics, which are often totally obstructed with fat-laden
macrophages (lymphatics are normal drainage "canals" for fat-laden
materials from the intestine).  In dogs, it often appears in certain
breeds, such as German Shepherds, without significant inflammation, while
in cattle, it is almost always seen in association with Johne's disease,
a severe inflammatory disease of the intestine..  So there is probably a
lot to this condition that we do not understand.
 
The problem is what occurs secondarily to the lymphatic dilation.  Usually
the most obvous clinical sign is diarrhea as a result of malabsorption -
much of the fat and protein is absorbed using lymphatics as a transport -
when they become dilated and blocked, digestion stops and malabsorptive
diarrhea starts.  There is marked loss of protein into the gut, known as
"protein-losing enteropathy"  Often the protein loss is so severe that the
plasma becomes very thin (hypoalbuminemia), and you get leakage from the
vessels, starting in the gut, and progressing to encompass the rest of the
body (at this point, you can see it in the skin.  You can also have very
low calcium levels, as calcium in the blood is bound to circulating
proteins.
 
However, these clinical signs are what is generally seen in dogs and other
species with hypoalbuminemia due to lymphangiectasia, but we don't know
what will happen in the ferret.  There really are very few cases that are
diagnosed prior to autopsy so you are blazing a trail here.  My suggestion
would be to treat as you would a dog with lymphangiectasia, and see if
there is any relief from this syndrome.
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, DVM
[Posted in FML issue 3328]