Hello all! Sorry to be so late in posting this information, but better late
than never...
 
We euthanisized Casper on February 21.  His condition had deteriorated to
the point where we felt that he had no quality of life.  I believe that we
waited too long but I hung on to the hope for my boy's recovery.  It wasn't
until the neurological exam was done that we knew what we were up against.
 
Since this procedure is new to ferrets, I have decided to make Casper's
medical records available to FMLers.  Dr Kemmerer will probably not publish
on this so she has agreed to provide me with a copy which I will send out on
request.  I hope that in Casper's death, others may learn from him...
 
Here is a summary of our experiences and then Dr Kemmerer's email to me
about their findings. (I have her permission to include them here...)
 
July 1996
     Symptoms: Casper begins rolling his rear toes under his feet and
        walking on his knuckles
     Diagnosis: Dr Freiberg - Spinal injury
     Treatment: Steroid shot. Watch and wait.
     Followup: When no improvement, placed Dr put Casper on pred
 
August 1996
     Casper develops blisters on his lips from pred. Two additional vets
     are consulted - one clueless/inept (supposedly ferret knowledgable,
     too!) and a holistic - Dr Demers. The holistic treatment given was a
     tincture of phosphorus for a couple of days. Casper perks up a little,
     no improvement in walking. (Pred stopped as soon as blisters appeared)
September 1996
        Symptoms: Casper is unable to urinate. Dr Beale recommends
        neurological testing of Casper at UF. (I get on the phone) Troy
        Lynn suggests adrenal tumor. Dr Williams recommends Dr Debbie
        Kemmerer and check out of adrenal.
     Diagnosis: Adrenal tumor
        Treatment: Surgery to remove left adrenal. Bethanicol chloride
        prescription
     Followup: Casper stops walking weeks after the surgery. Prednisone
        suspension in maple syrup prescribed. No reaction to this solution
        vs pediapred solution. Casper continues to deteriorate.
 
I continued to consult Dr Kemmerer for the next few months as well as other
FMLers who had experienced similar problems with their ferrets.  Having a
myelogram performed on Casper was suggested by Dr Kemmerer, but I was
concerned about the risk.  Since there was no treatment for spinal injuries,
Ken and I didn't feel that we should subject Casper to this experimental
procedure.  As Casper continued to worsen, we began to re-evaluate this
thinking; and decided to have the procedure done.  I am glad that we did.
 
Here are Dr K's emails regarding the results.  I asked for permission to
include them as I didn't want to misquote and spread misinformation.  The
only changes I have made to the messages are to remove references to
personal conversations.  Dr Kemmerer has turned out to be a wonderful vet
whom I am proud to say is also a friend now.  I highly recommend her to
anyone in the Southeast.  She's well worth the drive!!
 
Again, I hope that this may help....
 
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
 From: West End Animal Hospital
 Date: Wed, 19 Feb 1997
 
The news on Casper: in an extraordinary display of magnanimity, Dr. Hopkins
(the neurologist) did a complete physical neurological exam, spinal tap x2,
and a complete myelogram in exchange for learning how well a ferret
tolerates it, how difficult the procedure is to do, and how much useful
information can be obtained.  He had his doubts that much could be seen, due
to the small size.  Fortunately, he was wrong.  [Personal statements removed]
 
What we learned was very helpful, perhaps not so much for casper, but for
other ferrets in the future.  He tolerated the taps, the anesthesia, the
contrast medium, and the entire procedure as we have come to expect from
ferrets: he handled it all like a champ and is doing fine.  These guys never
cease to amaze me.
 
Unfortunately, what we learned about his specific condition does not give a
great prognosis for him.  We know there is no intervertebral disk problem,
no evidence of spinal trauma, and no evidence of a tumor in the cord.  It
does appear that he has a condition known as syringomyelia, a poorly-defined
degeneration of the spinal cord which may be progressive.  Dr. H is planning
on doing some more analysis of the spinal fluid than he could do here, so he
may be able to shed more light on this in a day or two.  [See below]
However, the types of cells present in the fluid are indicative that
casper's neurological problem may be linked to canine distemper.  It is
impossible to tell whether he was exposed to it when he was unvaccinated and
is manifesting a sequela which is not uncommon in dogs, or whether he may
have been vaccinated with the wrong vaccine.  This is the kind of problem
pathologists warned me about when one vaccinates a ferret with the
multi-valent dog vaccine, the dhlp combo.  I believe you don't have much
info on him from before you acquired him, right?  Would it be possible to
find out anything about his history as it might relate to this?  Was he
around unvaccinated dogs or other ferrets?  Was he vaccinated with dhlp?  In
dogs, the exposure may occur years before the symptoms develop.  [Casper was
vaccinated with FerVac - he was one of ours not a rescue]
 
Unless Dr. H.  comes up with more info, as it stands now we do not know
whether this condition will remain the same and thus his clinical condition
will be stable, or if the damage to the cord will be ascending; that is,
moving up the cord towards the head.  If this is the case, at some point the
nerves to his diaphragm will be paralysed and he will be unable to breathe
on his own.  Not a nice picture, but at least we have some idea of what's
going on and you will know when the time is right for euthanasia.
 
Dr. Hopkins now feels confident that he is comfortable doing the entire
procedure in ferrets and will be prepared in future for any cases that may
be referred to him.  As you were aware, the normal cost for all this is
approximately $600-700, and we got our freebie.  Nevertheless, it's good to
know this resource is available.  I'm emailing instead of calling because
there was so much information to absorb that i thought you'd want to be able
to peruse it.
 
 From: West End Animal Hospital
 Date: Thu, 27 Feb 1997 09:48:13 -0500
 
I just wanted to let you know what we know about syringomyelia, which is not
a whole lot.  Dr. Hopkins was not able to shed any more light on what might
have been the original cause in Casper's case.  What Casper actually had was
syringomyelia and hydromyelia, sort of variations on the same theme.
Syringomyelia is a cavitation of the spinal cord and hydromyelia is a
dilation of the central canal.  In either case, this serves to increase
pressure on the cord, and does progressive damage.
 
According to my internal medicine and neurology texts, these can occur
hereditarily in Weimaraner dogs, or may be a result of viral infection,
spinal trauma, tumors, myelitis (inflammation of the cord), meningitis
(inflammation of the meninges), and certain congenital abnormalities.  I
would not think that your other ferrets are in any danger.  A good
pathologist like Bruce Williams may be able to provide a little more
in-depth info.
 
You are certainly welcome to let anyone you like know the specifics of the
case. one never knows how information may help someone else.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
 
Dr Deborah Kemmerer             Dr AL Hopkins
West End Animal Hospital        c/o AA Pet Emergency Clinic
103 SW 140th Ter                4002-B Newberry Rd
Newberry, FL                    Gainesville, FL 32607
(352) 332-4357
[Posted in FML issue 1876]