Follow-up on the post-surgical seroma at
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/message/4315

Something I sent my dear friends who are also FHL moderators this
morning before I hit the sack:

Between 5 and 5:30 Whizzie either had the stitches give out where the
seroma had formed or she pulled them. I found her at 5:30 with omentum
hanging out -- a LOT of omentum hanging out. She would not stay in
plastic wrap (which I know is used in emergencies for that kind of
injury for humans) so we got her lower body into a plastic bag and
drove to the hospital to meet our vet for emergency surgery. So we are
just back from that, and it was just in time. The omentum was dragging
along a bit of intestine. Anyway, we are home from our first time
helping with an abdominal procedure, and she has extra meds, tough
antibotics, antibiotic stitches and staples.

Looks like a post-surgical seroma in a ferret can signal the potential
for worse happening afterward. Stitches are not Whizzie's friends...

Okay, more details: Whizzie is having small meals about ever two hours
and actually seems a bit more comfy than she was with the seroma. Boy,
did we all have a scare, though.

When I first saw the ropes of bloody stuff hanging from her I thought
that at least part was intestines, But fortunately, a tad of the coils
of intestine that the omentum dragged along did not emerge at all until
at the hospital (about an hour's drive away normally but with such
little traffic and luck with most of the timing of the lights we were
there much sooner). Basically, she had her own version of some
liposuction...

The reason I knew about plastic wrap was because of the Red Cross
training I long ago had, but she kept pulling it off. A large plastic
zip lock freezer bag was absolutely IDEAL for protection with me
holding her (TIP).

The reason we caught it fast is because in her case with a partial
pancreatomy we were providing meals every 2 hours, so Steve and I
were doing shifts, and at times she had an extra check -- in this
case because I was returning to my chair from the bathroom so i
stopped and checked. We all got lucky.

We still don't know if her tissue gave out or if she tried chewing at
the seroma location.

Point to take to heart: a post surgical seroma at an incision might
indicate a place of vulnerability so get it checked out promptly even
if it seems okay long-distance, and monitor any ferret with such a
seroma rigorously.

Second point to take to heart: luckily, everything that looks like
intestines is not so don't give up.

Learn to live and live to learn.

Sukie (not a vet)

Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html

[Posted in FML 5774]