From:
Bruce Williams, DVM
Date: 2001-04-18 20:07:00 UTC
Subject: Re: Ultrasound?
--- In Ferret-Health-list@y..., sharon allen <echotally@y...> wrote:
> Toby's tennessee panel results are back. Two out of
> the three levels are "slightly elevated", the third is
> normal. My vet, the doctor he talked to about the
> results at the University of Tennessee, and a vet in
> Richmond (70 miles away) all suggest ultrasound and
> then surgery. But ultrasound first to confirm and see
> what is involved.
>
> My feeling is, if it is "early adrenal disease" as the
> vet at the University of Tennessee called it, why
> bother with the ultrasound. I would appreciate advice
> from either vets and/or all of you who have been
> through the adrenal thing. This will be our first
> time. Thank you in advance.
I agree with you - ultrasound is usually of little help in these
cases - as you end up going in regrdless of what is seen on the
ultrasound, and have to examine and compare both adrenal glands, it
really is of little importance what the ultrasound says.
The term "early adrenal disease" is also a vague and misleading
term. Wile it suggests that adrenal lesions are very small, this is
in truth not usually the case. There is little correlation between
the size of a lesion and the amount of estrogen released from it.
All that can be said is that levels of estrogen are only mildly
elevated; it has no bearing on which gland is affected, or the size
of the estrogen-secreting lesion.
Surgery is the best option in this case.
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, dVM