>Hi, my 8 year old has what I believe to be splenomegaly. I can feel a >lobe that estends down from the bottom of her rib cage (on the left), to >the ilium, across the centre of her belly and all the way down to nearly >her pubic bone. It's a bit hard and seems to be uncomfortable when I >palpate it. In the middle of her belly, her skin laying on her side. Her >circulation seems fine, gums are pink and pinched skin turns pink again >quickly enough. Her heart rate seems normal (@274 b/m), but wow, was it >ever loud compared to the others. Maybe because of the fact that she has >very little body fat, but maybe due to high blood pressure? She sleeps >more than usual and in my opinion, drinks more than normal lately. This >has come on fairly rapidly, she was perfectly normal 5 months ago, but she >came down with a flu bug that really zapped her. She hasn't been the same >since. She's going in to my exotics vet tomorrow and I would like to have >some input from this list to help me make the best choices with what my >vet will recommend. Dear X: It does sound like a large spleen. If the size of the spleen is compromising her quality of life, then surgery MAY be appropriate. You and your vet need to decide whether she is a surgical candidate. 8 is not a young ferret - so you have to carefully weigh the risks. In most cases, removal of a large spleen will result in improved quality of life (imagine if you were carrying around a 40 lb spleen), but she needs to be healthy in all other respects in order to justify doing a splenectomy at this age. The loud heartbeat is likely due to good positioning of the bell of the stethoscope, as well as minimal body fat - high blood pressure does not result in any audible difference in heart sounds. With kindest regards, Bruce Williams, DVM [Posted in FML issue 3579]