Surgeons at Kansas State have implanted their first-ever ferret heart pacemaker in a ferret from Olathe, Kansas. Carl Hobi, Zelda the ferret's owner, said he noticed Zelda's appetite was off and that she was laying down more than normal. While in Pittsburgh visiting family, Hobi took Zelda to a veterinarian who happened to have been a resident in anesthesiology at Kansas State. "After other tests, they said she had a third-degree atrioventricular block in her heart, which was responsible for the slow heart rate," Hobi said. The doctor told Hobi to take Zelda to Kansas State for pacemaker implantation. "We performed an echocardiogram, EKG and chest X-rays, which demonstrated Zelda was a good candidate for pacemaker implantation," Justin Thomason, a veterinary cardiologist said. "As with a human patient, this condition called for the implantation of a pacemaker to help increase Zelda's heartbeat and provide her a good quality of life." "This was the first time I had ever performed this particular procedure on a ferret, although I have performed it on dogs before," Emily Klocke, clinical associate professor of small animal surgery said. "I was very concerned about how small our patient was and whether I could successfully suture the pacemaker leads to her beating heart without causing severe bleeding. Our anesthesia service, led by Dr. David Rankin, was very instrumental in the success of this procedure." The battery in the pacemaker should last for about 10 years, according to Kansas State.

Surgeons at Kansas State have implanted their first-ever ferret heart pacemaker in a ferret from Olathe, Kansas.

Carl Hobi, Zelda the ferret's owner, said he noticed Zelda's appetite was off and that she was laying down more than normal.


While in Pittsburgh visiting family, Hobi took Zelda to a veterinarian who happened to have been a resident in anesthesiology at Kansas State.

"After other tests, they said she had a third-degree atrioventricular block in her heart, which was responsible for the slow heart rate," Hobi said.

The doctor told Hobi to take Zelda to Kansas State for pacemaker implantation.

"We performed an echocardiogram, EKG and chest X-rays, which demonstrated Zelda was a good candidate for pacemaker implantation," Justin Thomason, a veterinary cardiologist said. "As with a human patient, this condition called for the implantation of a pacemaker to help increase Zelda's heartbeat and provide her a good quality of life."

Kansas State X-ray of Zelda the ferret after receiving a pacemaker

"This was the first time I had ever performed this particular procedure on a ferret, although I have performed it on dogs before," Emily Klocke, clinical associate professor of small animal surgery said. "I was very concerned about how small our patient was and whether I could successfully suture the pacemaker leads to her beating heart without causing severe bleeding. Our anesthesia service, led by Dr. David Rankin, was very instrumental in the success of this procedure."



The battery in the pacemaker should last for about 10 years, according to Kansas State.