From:
Caitlyn Martin
Date: 2004-04-16 22:00:03 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] the eternal surgery question
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <23110255.1082157903272.JavaMail.nobody@magnesium.smartgroups.com>
Hi,
Re: the 7-8 year old with thinning hair.
*IF* the vet believes the cause of the thinning hair
is adrenal disease, AND *IF* you do significant
testing to be certain the ferret in question is a good
surgical candidate, then, and only then, would I go
ahead with surgery. We made this decision for Podo
when he was about seven and a half. He had his right
adrenal gland out (conventional surgery with vena cava
ligation) and is still here two years later.
Considering the prostate problems that occur with
untreated adrenal disease in males we thought it best
to take care of Podo while he was healthy and strong.
It turned out to be the right decision.
However, having said that, I wouldn't allow anyone to
do surgery on a ferret that age without being very
certain that the risks were as low as possible (i.e.:
the blood work was all normal, no sign of heart
disease) and without being very sure it was necessary.
With older ferrets the risk is always somewhat higher
as it is. I would also make sure your vet uses
sevoflourine (sp?) for the anaesthetic rather than
isoflourine.
I want to make clear that I don't know enough from
your post to recommend surgery, and that in any case I
am not a vet. I just wanted to give you an idea of
the process we went through with our vet before doing
surgery on Podo.
All the best,
Caity and the super six