From:
Bruce Williams, DVM
Date: 2001-04-15 22:37:00 UTC
Subject: Re: Swollen Vulva
--- In Ferret-Health-list@y..., KEM192@W... wrote:
> My ferret Sheba's vulva has been swollen for about 2 weeks and
getting
> bigger. She has had both adrenal glands removed ( though I don't
know
> if they were able to get the right one completely), the latest one
being
> in december of 2000. Her appetite has been up and down since the
> surgery, and right now I feed her hill's a/d. She is able to go to
the
> bathroom alright, but I still worry that I need to do something for
her.
> Mike (on this mailing list) answered me as to what it might be, but
what
> can I do for her to get the vulva to go back to normal? I talked
to my
> vet who has treated her all her life, but she seemed not to be able
to
> have a solution. Any help would be appreciated. No replacement
hormone
> was ever told to me as a treatment.
At this point, it may be worth running the Tennessee Panel in order
to see if the estrogens are still elevated. I prefer this to simply
injecting Lupron blindly. Lupron is not inexpensive, and only treats
the symptoms of adrenal disease. If the test comes back elevated,
then I would investigate the possibility of additional surgery, or
perhaps cryosurgery to identify and remove the residual tumor.
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, DVM