Nancy,
I am so sorry about Bree's unexpected death 2 days after insulinoma surgery.
Its very difficult with ferrets to know they are sick, because they are so
stoic.  This is why I feel its so important to perform preop blookwork to
make sure that there are no unexpected problems.  Unfortunately unexpected
complications can occur in human or veterinary medicine.  In my experience
with preop bloodwork, an experienced ferret surgeon, isoflurane anesthesia
(exclusively---not ketamine), an intraop heart monitor and prophylactic
antibiotics the compilcation rate for any ferret procedure can be kept to an
absolute minimum.
 
Again, I'm so sorry for your loss.
 
Dr Weiss
[Posted in FML issue 1349]