To Gina Hart:
 
Gina - I wuld agree with the course of action that your ferret is taking
regarding Paleface's spleen.
 
The cause of splenomegaly in ferrets has not been definitively isolated.  I
have looked at hundreds of large spleens - most contain only large numbers
of immature red and white blood cells.  My personal opinion is that this is
a sterotypical response to inflammation at a distant site - most commonly
the stomach, where Helicobacter mustelae is very often found in older
ferrets.  Studies have shown that a similar change occurs in rats with any
type of strong systemic inflammation - even when a dilute solution of
turpentine was injected into a hind leg to stimulate inflammation - the
rat's spleens got large and started producing extra white blood cells to
help control the inflammation.
 
Palefaces history of gastric ulcers makes the possibility of Helicobacter
infection very likely.
 
If no other systemic infection is seen (Helicobacter is so common that we
expect it in every older ferret), and a ferret is showing marked lethargy,
removalof the spleen is generally performed.  The removal of this large
organ (which displaces the other organs and makes the ferret feel very
droopy - imagine having a 30-pong spleen yourself...) often results in a
quick return to previous activity levels.
 
While some vets may be hesitant to remove spleens in animals, I have seen it
done literally thousands of times, and not once has the ferret ever suffered
ill effects as a result of not having a spleen.  For all fo the immature red
and white blood cell elements it may produce (the bone marrow is where they
are normally produced), it really has very little effect on the levels of
red and white blood cells in the circulation, even in cases of severe
anemia.
 
If it's big and there's no obvious cause, then it can be removed.
 
Bruce Williams, DVM, DACVP              Chief Pathologist, AccuPath
Dept. of Veterinary Pathology               [log in to unmask]
Armed Forces Institute of Pathology
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[Posted in FML issue 1502]