Dear John:
 
>My ferret (Snoopy) has had a couple operations that involved removing
>tumors, The diagnosis came back as osteochondroma.  A tumor was removed
>from the neck to the spine Snoopy has not been able to walk or maintain
>balance since the operations.  I have been trying to get him to stand on
>his front legs, but it is a slow process.  I started acupuncture treatment
>with him last Saturday and have a second appointment this coming Saturday.
>Do you have any suggestions as to how to speed up his recovery?
 
You may want to get a second opinion on this case - I'm afraid that
something else may be going on.
 
The most common tumor of the ferret spine is a chordoma, which outnumbers
all other tumors by a nine-to-one margin.  These neoplasms may look like
an osteochondroma if the biopsy is not deep enough, and the tumor core
is not sampled.  Actual bone and cartilage is formed at the periphery of
chordomas, so if you have a less than optimal biopsy, or a pathologist who
is not experienced with ferret disease, errant diagnoses of osteochondromas
or osteochondrosarcomas can result.  (AS a matter of fact, the early papers
in the literature refer incorrectly to these tumors as
osteochondrosarcomas.)
 
Chordomas are locally aggressive neoplasms which most often appear on the
tip of the tail, but I have seen three in the neck.  Amputation of the tail
tip can be curative, because the entire tumor is removed, but this is a
luxury which we do not have in other areas of the spine.
 
Chordomas are locally aggressive and invade vertebrae and ultimately the
spinal canal, impairing walking.
 
I can offer a second opinion on the slide at no charge if you like - you
would have to coordinate with your vet to call the lab and have them
forward the slide to me.  Another very helpful addition to the case would
be the original radiograph.
 
X-rays can be very telling in these cases.  Osteochondromas are generally
solid tumors which grow outward from the vertebrae, as opposed to
chondromas, which form large ill-defined fuzzy lesions which may span more
than one vertebrae, crossing the disk spaces.
 
If this tumor is truly a chordoma, it is likely that loss of function will
be progressive.  Administration of steroids may help in the short run, but
actual recovery would be unlikely.
 
I am not a holistic practitioner, so I must defer comment on acupuncture
to others more in the know.  What little objective information that I have
been able to glean on it suggests that it may be more effective for pain
relief than for restoration of function.
 
As this is an excellent question, and would be of benefit to a more general
readership, I have also forwarded a copy of this post to the FML - I hope
that you do not mind.
 
with kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, dVM
[Posted in FML issue 3314]