I think it was well over a month ago when I posted to the fml and
fhl asking if anybody knows anything about slowed heart rate under
anaesthesia in a ferret.  have learned a bit more about it since, but
was not able to write emails for a little while due to 2 ferrets crossing
fairly suddenly within a week of each other.
 
since the condition seems rather unusual, I want to let people know about
it in case it comes up for somebody else, and so my apologies to people
who read both groups.
 
to refresh your memory a little, my ferret Sand was scheduled for surgery
around mid september, due to a mass in his abdomen.  under anaesthesia,
his heart rate dropped to about 30, and they decided it was too dangerous
for surgery.  initial thoughts were that he is sensitive to pre-meds.
he then went in for electrocardiographs and radiographs with no premeds
given, and 40 minutes after he was under (right after they were done
with the ecg machine, of course), his heart rate dropped although it
did not go below 150.  his radiographs and ecg were completely normal.
the cardiologist consulted didn't think it was a heart problem, and we
got a cardio-ultrasound as well to rule it out completely.  the
cardio-ultrasound was completely normal.
 
Sand's surgery was re-booked, again with no premeds, and using sevo
instead of iso, plus he was monitored with an ecg machine so they can see
the first signs of anything going wrong, and there are other precautions
taken as well.  I think the surgery was about 1-2 hours... turns out his
abdomenal mass was deflated by the fine needle aspirate they took at the
time of his ultrasound, but his left adrenal was bad and he had islet
cell tumours on his pancreas, so his surgery was not wasted..  but just
before they closed him up, he started freaking out my vet by doing crazy
things.  he alternated between having a slow heart rate (bradycardia) and
a rapid heart rate (tachycardia), and had arrhythmia as well for about 25
minutes.  my vet stitched him up real fast with regular sutures, and they
got a cardiologist to look at him as well (advantages of going to a
teaching hospital, all the experts are on site).  they took lots of ecg.
the cardiologist said the closest thing he can think of was the sick
sinus syndrome, which is fairly common in humans, dogs and cats, but
they have not heard of it in a ferret before.  Sand's only seems to be
triggered by extreme conditions as well, like being under anaesthesia.
 
Sand recovered quite well, we called him cactus boy for a while since
the vet used regular sutures for speed and those were very prickly.  I
think he still has arrhythmia sometimes when he sleeps, and I'm worried
he will have to go to surgery again because of insulinoma (he showed no
signs other than being slightly less active), and he is higher risk for
surgery.  the hospital just got some external pace makers that are small
enough for ferrets for the vets to play with.  I know the first thing my
vet said was he never want to do surgery on Sand again, and if he has
to, he doesn't want to do it without a pace maker.  Sand is still not
terribly active, I'm hoping it isn't his insulinoma, but just a little
depressed from the loss of his friends.
 
here's a page I found about the sick sinus syndrome that seems
informative
  http://www.naspe-patients.org/patients/heart_disorders/sick_sinus/
the short of it is that the heart nodes that generate electric pulses to
regulate the heartbeat do not work properly
 
I also want to mention a unusual insulinoma condition that Dief had.  he
was drooling and went in for insulinoma surgery in March, where nothing
was found on his pancreas.  his symptoms got a lot worse after that, and
he went in for surgery late october, where again his pancreas looked
completely healthy.  sadly, he passed away the week after, from heart
failure unrelated to his surgery.  still don't have his full autopsy
report, although there is some mention there may be neoplasia in his
heart.  but it was odd that he had the classic signs of insulinoma but
nothing was found.  my vet has only seen it in one ferret before in his
20+ years of exotic practice.  is it common?
 
that's all, hope this info is useful for some.
 
hug your fuzzies.
 
// *********************************
// Selina, Sprite, Sand & Bear
// missing Birch, Dief & Storm
// http://www.cgl.uwaterloo.ca/~ssiu
[Posted in FML issue 3987]