From:
williamsdvm@comcast.net
Date: 2002-12-11 02:14:37 UTC
Subject: RE: Should you test for insulinoma at a certain age?
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <23447702.1039572877347.JavaMail.root@scandium>
Author wrote:
> if insulinoma can appear without symptoms is there an age at which one should get some blood work done to make sure their blood sugar level is okay and head it off early? Any other "routine" tests, other than normal checkups that should be done at certain ages? I think we've caught it early in Freddy, which I understand is very good, but I don't want it to go unnoticed in one of the other ferrets.
I generally recommend routine bloodwork on an annual basis at 4 or 5 in apparanetly healthy ferrets. (Earlier, if a ferret appears to have a problem. A good CBC and chemistry will pick up early signs of a number of problems. However, the most important thing is for you as the owner to be cognizant of early warning signs of disease and keep a close eye on your pets.
> Also, when you have their pancreas removed or partly removed (don't know which they do), and it's early in the disease, can anyone give me an idea of the success rate in stopping the disease? Or does it just slow down the progress?
In a study I did with Charlie Weiss years ago, we measure success rate of the various surgeries based on how long the animal remained symptom- or disease free, as well as ultimate survival after surgery. The three groups were medical treatment only, removal of pancreatic masses only, and partial pancreatectomy. The mean disease-free intervals for each group were 22, 234, and 365 days, respectively. The mean survival times for each group were 186, 456, and 668 days, respectively.
I think that you can see why I am a strong advocate for surgical intervention, and pacreatectomy gives about a 33% longer survival and disease-free interval.
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, DVM