title: Pacemaker implantation in a ferret (Mustela putorius furo) with third-degree atrioventricular block.
abstract: A 7.5-year-old castrated male ferret (Mustela putorius furo) was diagnosed with third-degree atrioventricular (AV) block. A monopolar epicardial pacemaker system was implanted, resulting in a regular, paced cardiac rhythm with third-degree AV block at 140 beats per minute. Over the next 2 months, the ferret developed anorexia, interstitial pneumonia, intermittent diarrhea, and hind-limb weakness and had a slow and progressive recovery. The ferret developed clinical signs of congestive heart failure 4 months after the surgery, resulting in its death 3 weeks later. Necropsy results attributed the death to cardiac failure due to extensive myocardial mineralization. To the authors' knowledge this is the first published report of surgical report of surgical pacemaker implantation in a ferret.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Sciences, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, North Grafton, MA 01536, USA. david@sanchez-migallon.com
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sanchez-Migallon Guzman
authors.forename: Joerg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mayer
authors.forename: Raffaele
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Melidone
authors.forename: Robert J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: McCarthy
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: McCobb
authors.forename: Anoop
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kavirayani
authors.forename: John E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Rush
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001774:Blood Chemical Analysis / Q000662:veterinary; D002423:Cause of Death; D005289:Ferrets; D006327:Heart Block / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy / Q000662:veterinary*; D008297:Male; D010138:Pacemaker, Artificial / Q000662:veterinary*; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome