From:
williamsb@comcast.net
Date: 2002-07-18 02:52:51 UTC
Subject: RE: Osteoma/osteosarcoma questions (and a post-adrenal surgery question)
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <9099549.1026960771810.JavaMail.root@scandium>
I discovered a lump on Phoebe's head in February - it's at the back
> of her head, right next to her right ear...it covers the entire right half
> of her head from the ear back, and extends down her neck. An xray determined
> that it is attached to her skull, and was itself calcifying, turning into
> bone. The tumor/mass is inoperable, and was diagnosed as an osteoma/osteosarcoma
> (depending on whether it's malignant or not, but it's not being checked).
> Based on how much it had grown from February to June, when this other
> vet saw her, we're guessing Phoebe has another 4-8 months before the tumor
> will be causing her too much pain/discomfort. The vet said it could probably
> double in size (at that time) and not bother her, but once it tripled,
> it would probably be time to put her down.
Well, I think based on your description, that we are probably dealing with a chordoma rather than an osteosarcoma. I have seen several chordomas now which arise either on the skull or in the neck vertebrae. There are some significant differences which may affect the progression of this case.
Chrodomas are more infiltrative than osteosarcomas, and are more likely to infiltrate the spinal cord earlier. Likely that this will occur in the area of the crevical vertebrae - the back end of the skull is probably the farthest from critical structures.
Most ferets develop difficulty walking prior to showing a lot of pain from this condition. It is likely that this ferret will lose the ability to move before it will be necesary to put her down for pain.
While chordomas are far more common at the end of the tail, they may arise anywhere along the spine, and due to their infiltrative nature, surgical excision in these locations are not very useful.
With kidnest regards,
Bruce Williams, dVM