Geoff Pye holds Ben, an albino ferret, prior to surgery to repair a dime-sized hole in the roof of his mouth. Photo Credit © Russ Lante

An albino ferret named Ben is recuperating from his second surgery to correct an electrical burn wound-a dime-sized hole in the roof of his mouth-performed February 22 at the University of Florida's Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital in Gainesville, Florida.

UF wildlife veterinarians, who performed a follow-up examination on Ben on March 2, say the most recent procedure appears to have been highly successful.

"Ben's first surgery was successful in shrinking the size of the hole, but the graft we placed did not hold due to Ben constantly licking the sutures with his tongue," said Geoff Pye, a second-year zoological medicine resident at the UF veterinary college.

Exotic animal surgeon Avery Bennett, an assistant professor at UF, said wounds like Ben's are commonly seen in animals such as dogs and cats that chew on live electrical cords. "The fact that Ben is a ferret and has a significantly smaller mouth than most animals veterinarians would typically see with this problem makes this situation more complex to resolve," Bennett said. "It takes microsurgical techniques to close the hole."

Bennett and Pye performed the initial procedure on January 28, removing two of Ben's teeth and grafting mucosa from his chin and gums to create a flap that was then sutured over the hole. UF surgeons performed a more complicated procedure on February 22, through which three more teeth were removed to allow for the creation of two mucosal flaps, forming a double-layered closure of the hole.

Ben has not had an easy life, said Jackie Hawley, his owner, who operates Dook Nook Ferret Rescue and Shelter organization in Jacksonville, Fla. Ben's original owner donated him to the ferret rescue group because she couldn't afford to pay his medical bills but didn't want to euthanize the animal, Hawley said. "We got him here, and then were horrified to find this huge, gaping hole in the roof of his mouth," Hawley added.

Ben had lived with the hole in his mouth for seven months. Hawley posted information about Ben's plight on a ferret rescue Web site (http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/ben.htm), drawing attention from an Illinois ferret lover who helped raise $200 toward his medical care through the popular Internet auction site eBay. "Ben is just the most incredible guy," she said. "He's funny, he dances, he leaps, he prefers playing with me to playing with his toys."

After seeing a Gainesville veterinarian about Ben's problems, Hawley sought out Bennett, who had treated another of her ferrets and been recommended by other veterinarians, to explore the skin grafting option in more detail. When they finally reached him, Bennett agreed to see Ben that same day. He scheduled surgery for the following morning.

Hawley said she's praying for Ben to completely recover from this procedure because she doesn't have the heart to put him through additional surgery. Meanwhile, Hawley hopes others will learn from Ben's injury. "I would just like to convey the point that ferrets need to be supervised at all times," Hawley said. "It's seldom that they will chew on an electrical cord, but you never know what a ferret will do when it's bored."

Never leave a ferret alone in a room that has not been ferret-proofed, Hawley added. They're more inquisitive than cats, and it's a challenge to keep them interested and entertained.

-Sarah Carey is the public relations director of the University of Florida School of Veterinary Medicine. She can be reached at (352) 392-4700 , ext. 5206.