From:
Bruce Williams, DVM
Date: 2001-05-26 00:08:00 UTC
Subject: Re: Vaginal Tumor?
--- In Ferret-Health-list@y..., NCF <ncfs1997@s...> wrote:
> I have a 4 yr old late-altered female albino here that has some
sort of
> mass in her vagina. The outside wall of the mass is very visible.
>
> It's approx 2 cm in diameter, almost round, hard and has an almost
> smooth texture to it. It reminds me of a very large marble.
>
> Other than the mass she is active and eating and so far the mass
hasn't
> blocked the urinary tract and I am keeping a close eye on that. It
also
> seems to be growing at a fairly rapid pace.
>
> The vet isn't all that experienced with ferrets but feels that this
mass
> is a tumor and not an abcess of some sort. He also seems to think
it's
> most likely inoperable given the size and location and vaginal and
> vulvular involvement. I told him I would post this to the list and
he
> welcomes any feedback the vets here can give us.
>
> I can take some pictures of the area as it appears externally if it
> would help reach some sort of conclusion. It's really gross in
> appearance despite the fact the only part visible is the outside
edge.
> The rest of the mass is internal.
>
Dear Bev -
Pictures would certainly be helpful in this case. However, I can
offer a bit of information in their temporary absence.
If the mass is truly in the bagina, then the likelihood is that it is
benign - most smooth masses in the reporudctive tract are of smooth
muscle origin, and usually benign. They may be difficult to remove,
but once removed completely, do not recur.
However, if the tumor is not within the vaginal tract, but outside of
it, then the chance of malignancy is significantly higher. In this
area, squamouc cell carcinoma or a malignancy of the apocrine sweat
glands in the perivulvar area are the most common neoplasms, and are
usually quite invasive. Removal of a tumor that extends deeply would
be problematic at best, and there is a strong likelihood that
internal metastasis has already occurred.
Any images of this tumor would be helpful.
With kindest regards,
Bruce H. Williams, DVM, DACVP
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