From:
Heather Williams
Date: 2010-02-28 07:38:45 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Lung Hemmorhages after Adrenal Surgery
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
5 year old female, Obi, went in for surgery Friday morning because of suspe=
cted adrenal disease.=A0 Her only symptom was a frizzy tail.=A0 Not a bald =
tail, just a frizzy tail.=A0 She never lost hair, never had the odor often =
associated with adrenal disease, was not listless, did not gain or lose wei=
ght and her coat was as soft as a cotton ball.=A0 She just had a frizzy tai=
l.=A0 The frizz concerned me=A0though because I could always count on Obi t=
o never change.=A0 So when I started noticing the frizz increase=A0I took h=
er to a very ferret knowledgable vet.=A0 That was in November and the vet w=
as not concerned.=A0 Two months later I took her back and the vet thought m=
aybe she had early onset adrenal disease.=A0 Her words were to the effect:=
=A0 " a 5 year old ferret with=A0funny looking fur=A0on her tail, she's pro=
bably turning adrenal."=A0
=A0
During surgery the vet removed=A0the left adrenal gland which was "the size=
of a grape."=A0 Upon removal the gland=A0"crumbled apart and inside contai=
ned dead tissue."=A0 The right adrenal=A0gland was "slightly enlarged" so t=
he vet used cryo to freeze it.=A0 All other=A0internal organs "looked great=
."=A0 These were all=A0words and terms the vet used.=A0 The vet also stated=
that she was shocked to open her up and find such a large left adrenal gla=
nd when she showed no=A0classic symptoms of the disease.=A0 After she was a=
wake the vet gave her a Percortin (sp?) shot to counteract Addison's diseas=
e, pain meds,=A0and some fluids.=A0 Obi was brought home around 5pm=A0Frida=
y afternoon and put in=A0her sick cage.=A0 She drank water from her=A0water=
bottle and then curled up to sleep.=A0
=A0
Obi passed away late Friday night.=A0 A necropsy revealed hundreds of tiny =
hemmorhages and blood clots=A0inside her lungs and a white spot that had de=
veloped on her liver.=A0 The vet confirmed all organs looked good during su=
rgery, otherwise she would not have proceeded.=A0 The vet=A0is suspecting a=
metastatic cancer and sent the left adrenal=A0gland=A0for biopsy.
=A0
This is the second ferret I have lost to hemmorhages and=A0blood clots afte=
r=A0adrenal surgery.=A0 The first ferret threw a clot that landed in her li=
ver and she died 3 days after surgery.=A0 Obi went downhill much more quick=
ly.=A0 Can anyone give their thoughts on what happened?=A0 Would the cancer=
ous form of adrenal disease cause such devastation?=A0 Why with such a larg=
e left adrenal gland did she not show more symptoms?=A0 I have gone back th=
rough photos and videos of Obi for the past three years and cannot for the =
life of me=A0find anything in her appearance or behavior that would have in=
dicated she was adrenal or sick in any other way.=A0 She was as pretty and =
fluffy and feisty as the day I brought her home.=A0 And now she's gone.=A0 =
Could she have had another form of cancer?=A0 Any thoughts would be appreci=
ated.
=A0
Heather=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0
=20=20=20=20=20
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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