From:
fjaeger3@home.com
Date: 2001-10-08 16:08:00 UTC
Subject: HELP: Adrenal disease, missing Lt kidney, and extensive Rt
adrenal
I recently found your site just in time to diaganose my own energetic
3 year old ferret with adrenal disease. She lost her hair several
months ago and grew a great coat back recently but just began to have
vulvar swelling. I wanted to do what was best for my ferret so within
2 weeks I had a surgeon lined up and had her surgery today.
I found a good ferret friendly vet that had some experience and a
great surgical survival rate (100%) but I failed to ask all the right
questions. I failed to ask his personal level of comfort and how he
manages right sided lesions. Well, My ferret has a congenital lack of
the left kidney and the right adrenal was described as overgrown and
wrapped around the vena cava. During what now became an exploritory
surgery, not an adrenalectomy, he asked me if I wanted him to proceed
with removal but was well advised she may die during the operation. I
was also told I could take her in for a second microscopic surgery or
sew her up and do nothing but hope for 6 months to several years of
life expectancy. I knew my children would have a difficult time
dealing with a sudden death, and I had a sense he was not comfortable
with proceeding with the challenge of this particular right sided
adrenal tumor, so I opted for sewing her up and being positive.
As I reflect upon the day and read more and more about this disese I
am angry that the vet did not biopsy the lesion and has me almost
convinced the lesion was a carcenoma. I am not sure he had enough
experience with right sided tumors to judge it's pathology and I am
now making decisions of shaky data.
I am likewise angy that he feels there is nothing additional to do
although he mentioned Lysodren but ruled it out due to side effects
and a poor response for an animal with carcenoma. He feels her demise
will come from problems most related to the functioning of the vena
cava not the hormone excess, he mentioned the pancreas looked healthy.
He was not familiar with Lupron but had one ferret on melatonin.
I am at a loss as to what I should do next, PLEAE HELP!! I still want
to do what is reasonable for her.
I know Lupron will not arrest the tumor growth but will it help her
feel better, eat better, and therefore live longer. I do not want my
children to go through months of hopelessly watching their loved
ferret wither away.
Should I consider a second surgery to remove the right adrenal. Does
the fact she only has one kidney change anything? Could her enlarged
right adrenal just be a compensation for the lifelong lack of the
left adrenal? I live near a major ferret center -University of
Tennessee Vet school but doubt I could begin to afford them as their
quote for a simple surgery (not micro or cryo surgery)was over 4 times
what I paid for todays surgery.
This morning she was a healthy, bouncy ferret going off for a simple
curative surgery and tonight there is much darkness on the horizen.
I need someone with lots of ferret wisdom to enlighten me!
Thanks