From:
Caitlyn Martin
Date: 2005-10-12 16:50:47 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] Adrenal Removal One Gland or Two?
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Hi, everyone,
> My 5 year old male has adrenal. He is balding,
> marking, and last Fri had trouble urinating. He is
> going to have surgery w/in the week for adrenal
> removal. The vet recomneded by the local rescue
> group in my area uses cryo. The rescue group always
> has both adrenals taken out in surgery. It seems
> drastic to me and am looking for solid advice or
> literature stating pros and cons to such a surgery.
Our original vet, the one who retired last year after
35 years of ferret practice, was aghast at the idea of
removing both glands just because adrenal *may* recur.
He was absolutely adamant that he did not want to
create an Addisonian ferret unless it was absolutely
necessary. I know that the vets we use now only take
a gland known to be diseased as well. I certainly
share their view.
First, in the admittedly small sample of ferrets I
have had in my home, the recurrence rate seems to be
around 30%. Nyssa has now gone four and a half years
since her adrenal surgery with no further problems.
Romana is at four years. Ker Avon lived more than
four years after his adrenal surgery and never had a
problem again. Podo, one of mine that did have a
recurrence of the disease, had that happen at age nine
and a half and was treated with Lupron at that point.
I'm sure you get the point.
Right adrenal surgery is very difficult on both the
vet and the ferret. Recovery is more difficult than a
left. Bilateral at the same time is harder still.
The aforementioned retired vet stopped doing
bilaterals in the last year or so of his practice,
preferring to do two separate surgeries. He felt
doing that greatly reduced the chances of losing a
ferret.
Finally, perhaps the most compelling reason not to do
a bilateral unless absolutely necessary is the risk of
surgically induced Addisons Disease and potentially an
Addisonian Crisis. Yes, the "standard" dose of
prenisone/prednisolone and florinef/fludrocortisone
works fine for many ferrets. For many it does not and
the ferret is absolutely miserable while suffering
through Addisonian symptoms. You end up doing blood
work repeatedly to determine how much the electrolytes
are out of balance and adjusting medication until you
get the electrolyte levels right. This is not an
exact science and sometimes takes repeated
adjustments. In the meanwhile the ferret suffers.
If electrolytes get too far out of balance you get to
an Addisonian Crisis which is most definitely life
threatening in a very short time period. I remember
rushing Pertwee to the emergency vet at something like
11 PM and spending much of the night there. Pertwee,
it turned out, did not respond to prednisone and all
the adjustments in the world didn't help. That night
we found the right answer for him was dexamethasone
but, in the meanwhile, he nearly died. Pertwee's case
was rare but hardly unique.
Unless you want to risk putting yourself and your
ferret through hell I would not take out a second,
healthy gland. Based on my experiences with Pertwee
and Ryo-Ohki I am adamant about that.
A second diseased gland is another matter entirely.
That has to come out. Pertwee had three and a half
very good years with no adrenal glands. Considering
how quickly his second tumor grew and the fact that it
was a carcinoma I am conviced his second surgery was
absolutely necessary.
No, I'm not a vet, just a ferret owner who has had
more experience with adrenal disease than I would wish
on anyone.
All the best,
Caity and the fantastic five
(including three who have had one adrenal gland out)
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