From:
Caitlyn Martin
Date: 2004-04-25 15:25:32 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] help please - enormous right adrenal but no adrenal 'symptoms'
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <20040425152532.94305.qmail@web21403.mail.yahoo.com>
Hi, Lori and everyone else,
> Follow-up ultrasound today showed that Mojo's right
> adrenal is 2.69 cm by 2.94 cm and his left is .2 cm
> by .29 cm. Obviously that's not normal! However,
> Mojo has absolutely none of the classic outward
> symptoms -- not one.
A ferret can have adrenal disease with all the
symptoms, just one or two, or even none at all. The
only symptom Pertwee showed for months was unexplained
weight loss. The problem proved to be adrenal disease
(left gland). Romana has a slightly swollen vulva and
that was it. I've know of one ferret who went in for
insulinoma surgery and the vet, to her surprise, ended
up removing an adrenal gland as well.
>
> Vet is recommending surgery to remove right adrenal.
> Would appreciate your thoughts on this. Has anyone
> else ever had a ferret present with a similar
> situation? I'm loathe to do surgery that isn't
> necessary and the cost is steep -- 800 - 1200
> dollars. OTOH, if it'll do Mojo good in the long
> run, money is no object.
Surgery is the only cure for adrenal disease. If you
go through the FHL archives you'll see a number of
vets stating just that. If Mojo were mine I would
likely opt for surgery if our regular vet agreed, but
-ONLY- after all the other issues are cleared up. I'd
be particularly concerned about the pneumonia/fluid in
the lungs. That can be caused by cardiomyopathy, and
a ferret with a heart condition is NOT one you'd want
to risk surgery with.
I would get a second opinion from your regular vet.
If he or she also feels surgery is in order , and if
your regular vet is experienced with adrenal
surgeries, that's who I would have do the
adrenalectomy.
The main reasons for doing the surgery, other than
relieving symptoms, is to prevent serious problems
later. Males can develop prostate problems, for
example, and they can become life threatening (unable
to urinate) if left untreated.
Our Podo had his right adrenal gland out (traditional
surgery with vena cava ligation) at age seven and a
half. That was two years ago and he's still here :)
He's active and, while he's gone on to develop other
health problems, he's still happy and playful.
The usual disclaimer applies: I am not a vet, just a
moderately experienced ferret owner.
All the best,
Caity and the super six
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End of ferrethealth Digest
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