From:
katharine@nettally.com
Date: 2005-02-03 17:41:17 UTC
Subject: RE: Round Enlarged Left Kidney
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <29718.1107452477537.JavaMail.root@thallium.smartgroups.com>
Author wrote:
> 1. What are some of the possible causes for this to happen?
> 2. What is normal procedure in cases like this for the vet to follow?
> 3. What kind of prognosis are we looking at in a ferret aged 7 to 8 years?
> 4. What is better, Ultrasound or the Dye Test?
> 5. What should be done by owners following test or surgery for kidney problems/removal?
I have had two ferrets lose a kidney. Both were just fine afterward. Bessie's right was totally involved with her adrenal tumor (or is it the other way around? LOL) Her kidney was removed during her adrenal surgery, along with a lobe of her liver. She did great and died of unrelated causes many months later. I have a picture of the tumor. It was huge and you can clearly see the kidney and liver lobe.
Sinclair had a huge cyst surrounding his left kidney. The ureter was emptying into the cyst. He was urinating but only the overflow was coming out. We did abdominocentesis every few days until he could have the surgery to remove the cyst and kidney. Sinclair's surgery was a couple of years ago and he's still with me, doing just fine.
I don't know how to answer your question about the tests. If it is certain that a kidney is diseased, I would go in and remove it, assuming the ferret is healthy enough for surgery.
Please keep us posted on what you decide to do.