Here's a story of the ordeal a ferret of mine has just gone through.  It's
not over yet, but things are looking much better now.  (Note, this is nearly
100 lines long.)
 
On Tuesday, 21 April, Slink (2 yr sprite) underwent surgery in upstate New
York to remove a mass in her neck.  The mass was present ever since I purchased
her from a couple who claimed they had to give Slink up because she did not
get along with her other ferrets (somewhat odd, I know), though I didn't
notice it immediately.  A needle biopsy done about a year ago showed the mass
to be sterile fluid - perhaps a previous bite wound that had infected, then
encapsulated as it healed.  A quick neck incision (for a peek) convinced the
vet that removal of the mass was beyond his surgical skill but that, in his
opinion, there was no need to remove it as it was not posing a threat and it
might even heal on its own.  (Total cost: $40).
 
Over the past year the mass seemed to grow ever so slowly, and seemed to be
beginning to cause some discomfort, so I consulted another vet.  He thought
that it should go.  Surgical removal was probably easy, he thought, but if
he ran into complications he would implant a drain which would probably cause
the thing to heal on its own over a long period of time.
 
OK - back to the surgery:  removal successful.  A ~2 inch crescent shaped
cut was made and the capsule removed.  The vet showed it to me, and then
sliced open the capsule.  It was filled with puss - certainly not sterile
now!  He remarked that it had been adhering to her tubes (i.e. trachea and
esophagus) which is probably why she had some discomfort.  (Total cost: $60).
 
Poor Slink looked very weak and unhappy though.  Even many hours after surgery
her condition did not seem to improve.  Hmmm... and I thought ferrets bounced
back from surgery just like that!  Slink sure wasn't.
 
When I fed her, it appeared as if her food and water were leaking out of her
neck wound!  I kinda freaked and called the vet back at night.  He didn't
believe such a thing was possible, but nevertheless, asked me to bring her
back that night so he could have a closer look.  I took her back.  He said
Slink was fine.  He kept her the night for observation.  The next day, Slink
was returned to me, once again with the vet's assurance that she was "normal".
The leakage, I was told, was just serum, and was also normal.
 
But... once again... hmmm... she sure didn't LOOK "normal".  And her breathing
was very raspy too.  I had to drive to New York City that day, so I decided to
take Slink with me so I could keep an eye on her.  I put her in her favorite
spot - the glove compartment - and headed into the city.  With stops, it took
over six hours to get there.
 
By the time I got to NYC Slink's condition had deteriorated substantially.
I headed right to the Animal Medical Center and brought her into emergency.
It was 1:00am and a doctor was examining Slink a few minutes later.  The
doctor agreed - I had one sorry looking ferret.  She was admitted and placed
into the Exotic's Intensive Care Unit.
 
Next day the AMC discovered that Slink's esophagus had been cut during surgery.
Food was collecting in her throat cavity instead of going to her stomach.  She
was extremely weak, had a massive septic infection, and may not survive the
day.  The admitting doctor suspected infection and had started her on IV
antibiotics and fluid therapy immediately upon admission - his quick thinking
probably saved her life.
 
Well, I'll fast forward a bit.  Slink is now feeding through a tube entering
her stomach via her thigh.  Her esophagus and neck are once again closed,
though there is still danger of it re-openning, or of scar tissue closing off
the esophagus in the future.  The many surgeons that worked on her thought
the surgery went remarkably well and they are fairly optimistic that the
worst is over.  Slink has bad pneumonia now, but she has begun to respond
to still more antibiotics and oxygen and lots of time in a nebulizer tent.
So much so, in fact, that I can probably get her out of the AMC tonight.  I
will have to continue tube feeding every 3 hours for a while and will mix the
antibiotics with her swill.
 
The AMC people were just great - the surgeons did much of the work at greatly
reduced prices (partially due to the rarity of esophagal injuries in ferrets),
and I was regularly updated as to her condition.  Total cost thus far: over
$1500!  (And, yes, I fully intend to try to recover the money from the vet who
screwed up).
 
Lessons to be learned:
I don't think too many vets know ferrets well.  Certainly mine didn't.  He
also didn't know of the rabies vaccine for ferrets.  Kinda a shame tho,
because I do think he has a heart, and lots of experience (he's about to
retire) and is reasonable.  My advice here: if you want something out of
the ordinary (e.g. anything less routine than a spay job) FIND SOMEONE WHO
KNOWS FERRETS!
 
Other lesson here, and one that I hear repeated time and time again, is that
the Animal Medical Center in New York City is a darned good place.  There are
three doctors on staff with extensive experience with ferrets, including the
often lauded Dr. Karen Rosenthal.  Their surgeons are top-notch too.  Their
prices are insane, but so is every other service in NYC.
 
Well, almost time to go pick up my critter.   I'll let you know how she
progresses.
 
Bill
 
[Posted in FML issue 0250]