>Suspecting that it was a prolapsed rectum (although I had never seen such
>a thing before), Lily was rushed to a vet.  The vet immediately took Lily
>to surgery, also believing it to be a prolapsed rectum.  However, it
>turned out to be a large polyp that was still connected inside and hanging
>outside.  The vet removed the polyp and sent it in for testing.  Lily has
>recovered nicely.
>
>The good news is that this was the cause of Lily's increasingly bad
>litterbox habits that we had been attributing to senility.
>
>Last week the vet called to report that the polyp cannot be called
>cancerous, but instead is called a pre-cancerous polyp.  He claimed this
>was good news.  But, the lab was also planning to do a special stain on
>the cells.  Today he called back to report that the stain showed there
>to be Lawsonia intracellularis present which apparently is often a
>significant cause of these intestinal polyps.  He recommended treating
>with the antibiotic called chloremphenicol which I will pick-up today.
 
Dear X -
 
Lawsonia is the causative agent of a disease called proliferative colitis,
which you may have already heard of.  In this disease, there is profound
growth of the colonic (and rectal in this case) lining, which likely has
resembled a polyp, but is actually just a large segment of hyperplastic
mucosa.
 
I would now treat this as a garden variety case of proliferative colitis,
and not worry about polyps.
 
Bleeding is commonly seen with proliferative colitis - it is a common
presenting sign.
 
Chloramphenicol is the appropriate treatment for PC, but may need to
be continued off and on throughout the ferrets life.
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, DVM
[Posted in FML issue 3792]