>Hi, my 8 year old has what I believe to be splenomegaly.  I can feel a
>lobe that estends down from the bottom of her rib cage (on the left), to
>the ilium, across the centre of her belly and all the way down to nearly
>her pubic bone.  It's a bit hard and seems to be uncomfortable when I
>palpate it.  In the middle of her belly, her skin laying on her side.  Her
>circulation seems fine, gums are pink and pinched skin turns pink again
>quickly enough.  Her heart rate seems normal (@274 b/m), but wow, was it
>ever loud compared to the others.  Maybe because of the fact that she has
>very little body fat, but maybe due to high blood pressure?  She sleeps
>more than usual and in my opinion, drinks more than normal lately.  This
>has come on fairly rapidly, she was perfectly normal 5 months ago, but she
>came down with a flu bug that really zapped her.  She hasn't been the same
>since.  She's going in to my exotics vet tomorrow and I would like to have
>some input from this list to help me make the best choices with what my
>vet will recommend.
 
Dear X:
 
It does sound like a large spleen.  If the size of the spleen is
compromising her quality of life, then surgery MAY be appropriate.  You
and your vet need to decide whether she is a surgical candidate.  8 is
not a young ferret - so you have to carefully weigh the risks.  In most
cases, removal of a large spleen will result in improved quality of life
(imagine if you were carrying around a 40 lb spleen), but she needs to be
healthy in all other respects in order to justify doing a splenectomy at
this age.
 
The loud heartbeat is likely due to good positioning of the bell of the
stethoscope, as well as minimal body fat - high blood pressure does not
result in any audible difference in heart sounds.
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, DVM
[Posted in FML issue 3579]