Hello Everybody:
 
Well, we're facing a real dilemna with our oldest ferret, Ripple.  I was
hoping that somebody out there on the Net (Dr.  Williams, maybe we could
get your opinion?) might be able to help.
 
Ripple is our very oldest ferret and the oldest ferret our vet (Dr. Lena
Roeder here in Colorado Springs...she's a fantastic vet with a great success
rate in ferret operations) has ever seen.  Based on his teeth we're thinking
he's around 11 years old.  We aren't exactly sure since we found him
wandering around outside a few years ago.  He's still quite healthy, very
springy and bouncy and playful, with no signs of any arthritis or other such
problems.
 
But, about a month ago he started throwing up...deep bouts of vomiting that
pretty much emptied out his stomach.  We took him to Dr.  Roeder and the
only thing she could find after a battery of tests is that he has an
enlarged spleen.  She's speculating that the spleen is large enough to press
up against his stomach and that, on occasion, this induces nausea.  Since
that time (about 4 weeks ago) he hasn't thrown up once... until last night.
 
Ordinarilly we'd pay the $250 and have the spleen removed.  Dr. Roeder says
she's performed this operation many times and it's always worked.  In fact,
earlier this summer one of our other boys (Zeb) had to have his adrenal
glands (which were cancerous) removed, which apparently is a similar
operation.
 
But we're very worried that, given Ripple's age, he might not survive
the surgery.
 
Does anybody have any opinions on this?  Does anybody know of *any*
non-surgical treatments for an enlarged spleen?  This nausea seems to come
and go, perhaps as a result of bouncing around and jostling his internal
organs too much.  If we just gave him something to suppress his nausea,
would the odds say that he'll die of old age before the spleen becomes
serious?  He's already somewhere around 11 years old (we think); he's
already beaten the odds.  We don't expect him to be *around* much longer
even if his health was perfect.
 
If Ripple had other problems (arthritis, pain when he walked, bad eyesight,
etc.) our course might be clearer that maybe it was time to do the humane
thing and put him down.  But he DOESN'T have any other problems and I'm not
inclined to give up on him just on this.
 
Help?  Ideas?  Opinions?  Miracle Cures?
 
Steve and Colleen
Continually Matching Wits with Missy, Newone, Zebulon Pike, Minx,
                               Slinky, Puck, and the one and only Ripple
[Posted in FML issue 1413]