Remember that visually and in blood tests ferret livers can confuse vets
because they are NOT like the livers of other animals in some ways!  (In
fact, we have one with what could visually look like a liver in the sort
of major trouble you mentioned which really instead was a liver which
was responding to the reduced nutrition and irritation of a stomach
blockage.)  There is a wonderful write-up in "Confusion and Controversy
in Interpreting Ferret Pathology..." in Dr. Williams' AFIP
 
ferret site:
general URL:
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
article specific URL:
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/Clin_Path/ClinPath.html
 
Hopefully, there was a biopsy done and the tissue sent out to a ferret
knowledgeable veterinary pathologist.  That is always the smartest
thing to do when there is a surgery!  If a vet doesn't know who is
knowledgeable in any given area then use Mike Garner of Zoopath; he's
excellent and is used by people like Dr. Bruce Williams (who is
incredible but is exceedingly short on time) for studying the tissues
of some of their own ferrets.  We have a local one who is good but when
there is a puzzle the tissues or some of the tissues go to Zoopath on
Dr. Bruce Williams' recommendation.
 
http://www.zoopath.com/About%20Us.htm
 
Contact info from the site for those of your vets who are not on-line:
Northwest ZooPath
654 W. Main St., Monroe, WA  98272
Phone: (360) 794-0630    Fax: (360) 794-4312
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
 
There are some fine past posts in the FML and FHL on the topic or
biopsies or of necropsies (with some of the same info that is true for
necropsies (like not freezing tissues) being true after surgery) so check
the archives of both because you will find useful info like that in:
 
http://listserv.cuny.edu/Scripts/wa.exe?A2=ind0011&L=ferret-search
&P=R30465
 
BTW, FML members in Mexico will want to note this from the Zoopath
newsletter:
 
>Updating pending news from the previous newsletter, we are happy to
>announce that Dr. Carles Juan Salles sat for and passed his ACVP boards
>in September of 2002.  Dr. Juan Salles is the first board certified
>pathologist in Mexico and is now working with and training residents of
>his own.  Our next resident, Dr. David Espinosa, will begin his study
>plan in January, 2004.
 
Sukie (not a vet)
 
P.S.  At he site there is also a picture of liver appearance chances
secondary to not being able to eat or digest enough (anorexia) which
would make a person think primary liver disease in other animals
 
Yes, primary liver disease can happen but it is uncommon, so I hope that
when the pathology results come back the news is better than you expect.
[Posted in FML issue 4585]