Hi My name is Kerry and I am knew to the list. One of my ferrets was operated on at the end of February and had his spleen, with a large tumour attached, removed. After the operation he did brilliantly but now he has started to retain fluid in his abdomen. He is going back to the vets this week but I wondered if anyone has had a similar situation and could offer any advice. I realise that the fluid retention is not a good sign and that he might now have secondaries. At the time of the operation everything appeared to be OK and there was no sign of any other growths. I don't want to drag him on and make him suffer (animals are so good at hiding pain) but I also don't want to lose him. His pathology report was as follows "SAMPLE - Spleen DESCRIPTION - The wedge of splenic tissue examined shows congestion and patchy reticuloendothelial cell hyperplasia. There is no distinct red and white pulp division but through out the red pulp there are diffuse and focal infiltrations of round cells. This is a heterogenous cell population including clusters of small hyperchronic lympoid cells and foci of histiocytiod cells. There are also many lymphobiastic cells showing a more granular nucleus with indistinct nucleolus. Mitotic figures are infrequent in these cells. INTERPRETATION - I suspect this is an early mixed cell lymphoma but difficult to differentiate from lymphoid hyperplasia. The prognosis should be cautious following splenectomy." Any input would be gratefully received. Thanks Kerry [Posted in FML issue 4487]