From:
julie_fossa@yahoo.com
Date: 2004-05-04 23:11:21 UTC
Subject: RE: How many symptoms before surgery?
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <3954110.1083712281914.JavaMail.root@thallium.smartgroups.com>
I have to agree with Lisa, here. I have taken ferrets into surgery with only one minor sign such as aggression or because I can smell the hormones in the urine.
Angel Baby only had a swollen vulva the size of a pinhead. I wasn't even sure it it qualified as swollen. When it blossomed she was in surgery within a week.
It was a right, the size of a lima bean, with 'tentacles'. It had attached to the liver and vena cave. She was given monthly Lupron twice, in hopes of it shrinking while we contemplated another surgeon. The vulva went down and she was doing fine. She started loosing her 'spring' weight, and had what appeared to be an ear infection. She died of severe neurological signs about 2 months after surgery.
It took whatever it was one week after she started loosing weight to kill her. She had been placed with a foster family and passed while I was out of town so no necropsy was done. She was beautiful on the outside.
Another boy, Chip only had dandruff and lethargy. His was the size of a small chicken egg and was wrapped around his left kidney. He has a long, soft coat.
If the ferret is a surgical candidate, I have my vet go in as soon as I can get them scheduled. There have only been 3 times we could not find a gland, and every one of those were ones that had advanced signs and had been on melatonin while waiting for their appointment.
Julie
Author wrote:
> Thanks for the info,Mike. I do have another question. The only symptoms I see right now is the agression and he is sleeping more. He hasn't lost weight and his coat is nice and shiny. If it were your ferret would you go ahead and do the surgery or would you wait for more symptoms. I haven't had any agression out of him since I wrote you last. He is sleeping a lot more though. I just don't want to submit him to surgery if this could be something else. My vet seems to want to wait but then I also feel recovery would be much easier on Rufus if he is basically healthy. What would you do? I have money put aside so that is not an issue.
> Thanks
> Connie(bossbomb)