From:
"Bruce Williams, DVM"
Date: 2008-06-30 22:29:42 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Re:Adrenal disease
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
Dear Judy:
Something like this is probably best removed and looked at to see
exactly what it is. In most cases, these are generally granulomas -
a walled off inflammatory reaction to a foreign substance. Usually,
if you deposit vaccine or medication beneath the skin in the
subcutaneous tissues which have more blood vessels, it is well
absorbed.
If you get it in the skin, though, you stand a good chance of it
getting "stuck" in areas with poor vascularity, giving the immune
system a better shot at recognizing a depot of foreign material and
becoming sensitized to it. Then you have two problems - the body
tries to clean it up (hence the granuloma) and the next time it sees
it, it responds more quickly and vigorously.
Now this is not the only possibility, but the more likely one. Other
possibilities over the back would be smooth muscle tumors arising
from the muscles associated with large hair follicles in this area
(usually benign), and in rare cases, there are malignancies in
ferrets which are associated with injections (but this is usually
vaccine-related.)
I am not sure why any of these would be bad-smelling to a ferret, but
that is beyond my scope of vision. I think removing it and sending
it somewhere (and I will do it for you at no charge if you send it to
me here in Washington) is always the best think with lumps that don't
go away on their own.
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, dVM
--- In ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com, jadeblasio@... wrote:
>
> My vet has asked me to post to the FHL, and get advice on a
reaction my
> ferret, Guille (pronounced Gee-Jay) has had to a lupron injection.
Oddly, it is
> similar to previous postings.....
>
> Guille is a 5yr old, male, Marshall Farms Ferret. Aprox. 1.5 yrs
ago he had
> his left adrenal gland removed, and it was caught very early.
Several months
> ago, I noticed he was becoming adrenal again (hair loss on toes,
tail, ears,
> and those red round sores were appearing).
>
> On May 13, 2008, I took him for his very 1st 2mg Lurpon Depot
(4month
> injection). He responded VERY well to it. Had hair regrowth
immediately etc.
>
> A couple of weeks after his injection he started to act a little
bit not like
> himself (wanting to sleep more). He also developed this HUGE lump
on the
> scruff of his neck at the injection sight. Actually, two lumps
because he
> received two shots. The first w/the lupron and the second w/some
saline (I believe)
> to make sure we got all of the medication since it is very
expensive. The
> very large lump (is at least an inch in length or larger) was oval
shaped, almost
> like you would imagine a vitamin E Gel Capsule to be.
>
> I know I have had other ferrets develop lumps at the injection
sight in the
> past, but not this large or this oddly shaped, and they went away
rather
> quickly. Guille has had this for quite some time now.
>
> I took him to his vet (who is ferret knowledgeable). He at first
thought
> the lumps were the lump reaction to lupron he had seen in the past
with other
> ferrets. He also felt an enlarged gastric lymph node in his
stomach, which he
> did an ultra sound for. It was decided that we would watch it
every two
> months.
>
> I asked that his CBC be taken. We decided we would recheck the
enlarged
> lymph node in 2 months...and that the Lump on the scruff was common
w/Lupron.
>
> Now....this lump is so large, you can visually see it from across
the room.
>
> The CBC results came back and his WBC and Neutrophil reading were
VERY high
> (WBC 41.2 with a reference range of 3.5-7.0 Thous./uL , Nuetrophil
was 84%, and
> absolute nuetrophil seg was 34608). My vet had the lab re-run the
CBC to be
> certain there was not an error and there was not.
>
> This weekend I had to take another ferret in for their Lurpon
injection. I
> decided to take Guille w/me because the large lump had at one point
turned
> purplish and then reddish, and developed a pimpled that scabbed.
The fur also
> turned yellow around the injection site (which I have seen before).
>
> When my vet saw the lump again, he said that he had never seen a
lump
> reaction to Lupron quite as bad as this. He was concerned that
Guille could be
> infact allergic to the Lupron. He is uncertain if we should
consider giving it to
> him again when he becomes due for is next injection. He wanted me
to email
> the group to see if anyone (particularly the vets) had ever
experienced this
> before, and get your input on if you feel it is safe for Guille to
continue to
> use Lurpon.
>
> I have consulted w/a very reputable ferret vet who has spoken at
several
> sympsiums. This vet advised my vet to prescribe antibiotics.
However, Guille is
> now acting 100% like himself, and my vet felt if there was an
infection, he
> would be lethargic. He felt that the count was high due to the
inflamatory
> response to the Lurpon, possibly due to Guille being possibly
allergic to Luron.
> We drew another CBC this weekend, and oddly even though the lump is
still
> there, and just as large...all readings came back normal this
time. Also, the
> inflamed gastric lymph node in the gutt can no longer be felt.
>
> Would you please advise if you have any thoughts or suggestions for
> Guille...and also if you feel it is safe for him to continue to use
Lurpon as treatment
> for his adrenal condition. Per the advice of the well known vet,
my vet took
> his advice and d is mailing me some Clavamox to start..even though
the blood
> results are normal now.
>
> I am sorry this is so long.... as you can see I am very detailed
orientated.
>
> I appreciate your time, and your suggestions and/or advice on our
issue.
>
> Thank You,
>
> Judy DeBlasio from NJ
> MetroFerret
>
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