From:
Lisa Shortley
Date: 2001-10-24 05:24:00 UTC
Subject: Re: Adrenal & Lupron
--- In Ferret-Health-list@y..., katharine@n... wrote:
> The time has just about arrived to make a decision about Cedes. He
> had a bilateral adrenalectomy the end of July. His fur is NOT
> growing back in. He is pretty bald up to his neck.
Hi Katherine,
That really stinks about Cedes. In my experience with having to redo
bilateral surgeries, here's what my vet found (we did this for four
of my ferrets).
They each had a tiny "piece" of ectopic tissue that had been floating
prior to the surgery. It wasn't a bonified adrenal tumor, like what
was removed the first time, but a small little ectopic piece that had
enlarged enough to cause symtoms and had a blood vessel that attached
itself to something (in one it was the kidney, another had it lower
on the vena cava, another around the liver area, and the fourth right
around where the adrenals had been). This ectopic tissue was very
tiny and difficult to find, even for a vet who is extremely
experienced in adrenal surgeries and one of the first vets to start
discussing ectopic adrenal tissue.
In my guys' cases, they were all 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 years old - too young
for me to want to treat with Lupron forever so I elected to redo
surgery. In the first two of the four, because I just couldn't
believe that after their bilateral surgeries, there still could be
something in there, we tested the estradial, both times it came back
elevated, so we knew. For the second two, we didn't even bother
testing.
Could these tiny pieces of ectopic tissue ever enlarged enough to
become life threatening? I have no clue, anyone know? I'd think
it'd depend on where the reminent or ectopic tissue was and how
robust it was. Even the tiniest of tissue can sometimes emmit enough
hormones to stop hair regrowth and keep other adrenal symptems
present. One of my ferrets had his original surgery in 8/00, started
showing his symtoms again about 4 months later, we did the second
surgery in 8/01, a year later and the tissue found was very very
tiny - and that was a year later.
Lupron doesn't shrink tumors or stop the growth of tumors, but it can
make them feel better. It doesn't always work though - and sometimes
it takes several treatments (like 3 injections over monthly periods)
to even start seeing symptoms relieved.
One of my local vets here in Pittsburgh, who is on this list, was
very helpful in explaining the pros and cons of Lupron to me in the
past. In addition to hair regrowth (cosmetic), Lupron can stop other
symptems of adrenal disease too - like prostate enlargement (life
threatening in males), aggression/difficulty getting along with other
ferrets, itchy dry skin, and muscle loss. It isn't just fur growing
back in that it helps alleviate, which is why Lupron is such a nice
treatment for ferrets who aren't strong enough to stand surgery.
Sometimes Lupron can work miracles at first but after several
treatments, stop working for no reason. No, it doesn't stop the
tumor from growing, but I do wonder if ectopic tissue growing (which
could even be microscopic) could ever get to the point that it'd be
life threatening - especially in a ferret who is already 8 years
old. My guess is, that you won't know what you're looking at unless
an exploratory is done. What I wonder from those who know more
medically than me, is does it really matter what's in there? Since
the adrenals were removed prior to this, do they still stand a chance
to grow large enough or attach to something vital that could be life
threatening?
We'd talked about floaters before on this list. This is why I was
disheartened after the first bilateral surgeries, when no ratios came
back off. I knew that meant that there was still tissue in there -
and while that's great in that it helps regulate their sodium and
potassium, it can also sometimes cause further adrenal problems down
the line. Unfortunately, in all of mine, it did cause problems.
My advice to you would be to give the Lupron a try - especially since
he's almost 8 years old. You'd asked a battery of questions in your
email, and I thought I would try to answer them to the best of my
knowledge.
My crew has been through 14 adrenal surgeries thus far so I kinda
feel like I've seen it all. Matter of fact, one of my very first
adrenal ferrets was part of the orginal adrenal study that examined
the effects of Lupron on the adrenal ferret.
I hope this all helps to answer some of your questions and I hope I
answered them accurately. Good luck with Cedes.
Lisa Shortley