>From: Chris & Shelley Knudsen <[log in to unmask]> >Subject: Medical Question - Fluid in the belly >Abby's belly is getting bigger, while the skin around her neck is getting >flabbier, telling me that she is slowly starving to death. >I am guessing that the swelling in her belly is from the fluid, but I have >no clue where the fluid is coming from, or what I can do to treat it. >Directly under where the incision was for the splenectomy, Abby's belly is >very hard for about the size of a golf ball. Everything else is soft.... First of all, I am not a vet, and I can only pass on the circumstances of the two ferretsthat I had who presented similar symptoms, so please don't panic. I certainly hope that Abby does not have what Nico or Rascal had. Nico (aka Mr. Neeks) was a shelter kid, about 4 or 5 when picked up. He had suffered a heat related stroke and was brain damaged. He was also blind, but I don't think that was due to his stroke. Anyway, I do a "physical" exam on all my kids about once a week, looking for lumps and bumps. Nico did not have an overly large rounded belly, he was a bit overweight, but not bad - he had an enlarged spleen, but that was it. I was paying more attention to Neeks because he didnt seem to be eating as much, and I had started supplementing his food with duck soup. Then he stopped eating entirely on his own. As I was doing my weekly exam, I felt a small hard area just underneath his ribcage, on the right side (he was on his back). It moved a little when I touched it, but not much. I figured we were dealing with a mass on his spleen, and scheduled surgery, I felt he was still strong enough to do the surgery.I got the call we all hate at work - it was lymphosarcoma. His belly was full of fluid with blood in it. The tumor s tarted (they speculated) at the lymph nodes near the stomach. The tumor had encapsulated his stomach, pancreas, was growing through his liver, kidneys, intestines, part of his diaphram, and was the size of a woman's fist. We told the vet to go ahead and let him go to the Bridge now, the cancer was just too involved, and there was no way I could be there to say goodbye to Nico. The second little one was Rascal, who was put down this past February. She exhibited similar symptoms as Nico, but it was sudden: She never was pot bellied, and stopped eating on Friday. We started duck soup and on Saturday hydrated and force-fed until Sunday, when I realized that she needed a professional - I could not keep her hydrated. The vet on call (Dr. Small, BTW, for anyone in the Tidewater, VA area - is a great emergency Vet at the tidewater emergency clinic!) spoke with us after examing Rascal. She said Rats (her nickname) was a little tender in her belly and did an aspiration of fluid - there were traces of blood in it. Rascal continued to decline and 2 hours later She called. Wanted to do exploratory - we said yes. What she found was a malignant mass in her pyloric tube, that caused a "blockage". The food/water in her stomach had nowhere to go, and she had perforated her stomach, so the contents of her stomach were dumping into her abdominal cavity. Peritonitis had already set in on all of her o rgans and her chances were slim. Dr. Small said that this mass had probably been there for some time, slowly closing off her pyloric tube, and had finally closed it sometime on thursday/friday when Rascal stopped eating. We asked her to not do anything, but to wait to put her down until we got there. 20 minutes later, we said our goodbyes to Rascal and sent her to Rainbow bridge. She was an old lady (over 8) and I just couldn't put her through this. I truly hope that your little girl will get better, or at least be pain free. You might want to talk to the vet about alternatives to surgery, prednisolone will help for insulinoma, but is hard on the stomach. Have you done an X-ray to try and determine what it is or where it is located? Some vets also have access to ultrasound, which can help as well in diagnosing the problem. I wish I had an answer or a fix. Sorry that this is such a depressing response to your post. I wish I could give a better or happier response. Lisa, Head Ferret The Ferret Haven "By-the-Sea" [Posted in FML issue 2330]