Ferreteers:
As many of you know, my albino boy Conan had his left eye removed.  It had
been injured somehow, he was on antibiotics, and I think somehow he
reinjured it.  When he came out of the surgery, he seemed to be doing fine.
He finished his antibiotics, I let him out of his cage again & he seemed to
be doing fine.
 
This last Friday (July 4th!), the eye socket had ballooned in the course of
only a few hours so that he looked as if he were wearing a gumball over his
left eye socket.  He was in great spirits, playing & dancing & eating &
pooping just like normal.  I called his vet's office Saturday morning
(Temple Terrace Bird & Animal Hospital, which I have recommended here
before).  One of the two small animal specialists would be in Sunday, so I
kept my boy confined to a cage with the sweetest of the brood (Camille) for
company.  The 'gumball' seemed to flatten out by Sunday and was about the
shape of a quarter on top of his forehead.  Dr Lassett recommended
aspirating the lump & testing the fluid.  He also noticed (which I hadn't)
that pressing on the lump made a poochy place bulge out below his jaw.
Conan's temperature was normal & he was, again, eating & pooping normally.
He seemed to be sleeping more, but responded normally to me & the other
animals.
 
When I returned to TTB&AH today to bring him him, I saw Dr Welborn, who had
done the original surgery.  He described the aspirate as being mucusly
looking & thick, and said that there were no signs of infection(including
fever), but there were inflamed cells & some cells that appeared wrong, but
he couldn't identify.  He recommended Clavamox (1/2 62.5 mg tabs 2x a day),
and sent the sample off to a pathology lab in NY (ANTEK?).  We expect the
results by the end of the week.  There is a possibility that the saliva
gland has been injured on that side & is draining, although that drainage
would normally go below the jaw & not to the top of the head.  There may be
some kind of cancerous activity, although Dr W would probably have seen a
tumor when he removed the eye.
 
I have Conan the Large at home now.  His weight has gone to 2.2 from 2.6
before the surgery .  He is sleeping more than normally, but he was sedated
last night.  Camille came scampering up to her pal, & all he wanted to do
was cuddle & doze with her.  He is asleep in his cage under towels and
tshirts now.
 
The lump on the top of the head is still there, but the gumball thing has
begun to return & has gotten bigger since we got home at 6pm.  Dr Williams,
if you have any suggestions, I'd appreciate them.
 
FML'ers, if you need a vet in the Tampa Bay area, I again recommend my
clinic.  Dr Marusak (who first saw Conan) is gentle & thorough.  Dr Lassett
was concerned & decisive.  Dr Welborn is well-versed in ferrets - he knew
how to handle Conan & knew what to do - he also recommended postponing a
biopsy (more surgery) because surgery is traumatic on such a little body.
His techs & office staff are efficient and calm during crisis & they're nice
people, too, which helps!  They posted Kodo Fliers in the waiting room &
talked to me about rabies in Fla.  I'm glad to have them.
 
Any FML'ers with advice or experience in this kind of thing, please email me
privately.  I'm writing this not just to ask for help, but to keep you
advised so that when the problem is solved, we will all have learned
something.
 
SFD's to you & yours,
Paula
Conan (MoooooMMM, what's a pill doing in my Ferretvite?)
Camille (ohh, my sweet baboo, come here & Camille will cuddle you)
Rikki (hey - how come the white dude gets all the treats?  I don't care - I
get the lap!)
Heidi von Fredonia (c'mon, Conan, let's play, c'mon, c'mon)
Cady the Wonder Dawg (After Hurricane Andrew, you think these Tampa
thunderstorms could scaremeeee, MA!Come here, Ma, I'll be good, just scratch
my ears & make it go away)
Kelsey the Kat (Everyone be quiet & worship me, or I'll sit on you.
hehhehheh)
[Posted in FML issue 1996]