>From:    Joanne Gelormino <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Slinky's surgery
>...aspirin: I only gave it to him for three days prior to the surgery, so
>it didn't pose a risk.  I don't know the answer to your question about
>stopping aspirin before surgery.  A vet would have to answer that one.
 
FYI: Aspirin has antithrombotic effects (inhibits platelet activity, ie.
aggregation -> clotting) that are reduced only when new platelets are
formed in 7-10 days (human values, couldn't find ferret values, but
probably similar).  Therefore, your ferret would probably have to be off
aspirin (depending upon the dose, time given, etc.) for more than a couple
of days to return his little fuzzbutt to normal clotting ability.  If the
surgery was uncomplicated, it probably didn't make that much of a
difference, but it IMHO it increased the risk by making hemostasis more
difficult to achieve.
 
The other big worry (and I am told that I will see it happen in clinics a
lot) is when caring owners give their pets (dogs, especially, are more
susceptable than humans) aspirin for pain and it causes gastrointestinal
ulceration.  My professors like to tell us the stories of doctors (MDs) who
bring in there dogs to emergency services with bleeding GI ulcers from
aspirin--apparently happens all the time.  So anyone can have these
misunderstandings of how drugs work in different animals.  Oh yeah, always
make sure your vet knows if you have given your pet any drugs (including
aspirin, tylenol, tums, holistic remedies, etc.) because some of these OTC
drugs are really dangerous to pets and its better that the vet knows and
you get an explaination than...you know the rest.
 
******************************
Sean Sawyer V'00
University of Pennsylvania
School of Veterinary Medicine
 
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[Posted in FML issue 2279]