To Danny Williams:
>[The vet] said he could feel a definate bump on the top of the spleen,
>but no change since the last visit.  Could anybody please suggest what this
>might be?  I happened to mention that his spleen has dramatically changed
>size about twice a day (I kinda figured irritation from feeding <maybe?>).
>Anyway, he proceded to tell me that he thought it was lymphosarcoma...
>[but] ferret spleens seem to balloon every time they sneeze...
 
        Well, a bump on a spleen could be a tumor, but it wouldn't be the
right pattern for lymphoma.  Lymphoma in the spleen of ferrets causes marked
enlargemtn of the spleen, and it doesn't wax and wane - it keeps getting
bigger.  Spllens don't get larger and smaller usually over the course of a
day - a few weeks, maybe.
 
        Palpation is not the most sensitive test for identifying tumors in
ferrets.  If this vet wan't sure how to treat Helicobacter, I'm not sure I
would put a lot of faith in his palpation skills.  Did he offer any possible
way to diagnose this bump - or just say it was there and that it could be
lymphosarcoma.  If he didn't suggest any further diagnostics, it sounds like
a smoke screen.
 
        Check with Pam Grant - I'm sure she has some recommendations for a
vet in Houston....
 
Bruce Williams, DVM, DACVP
Dept. of Vet Path, AFIP
[log in to unmask]  OR
Chief Pathologist, AccuPath
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[Posted in FML issue 1304]