Hi,
 
I have learned a valuable lesson the hard way and want to pass it on to
you all.
 
I had always heard/read, etc. that adrenal disease in males should
basically be treated as an emergency (due to the possibility of the
prostrate causing a urinary tract blockage), but that in females,
surgery could wait.
 
I would like to warn folks with female adrenal ferrets not to wait too
long.  My very first ferret, Tracy, who opened the door to the wonderful
world of ferrets for me died very unexpectedly earlier this week during
her adrenal surgery.
 
She had had a previous adrenal surgery in which the left was removed and
the right was debulked.  Since I knew for sure the right was the affected
gland and that it would be a bit more difficult due to the previous
debulking, I was waiting for my vet to get a cryo unit.
 
During the wait, my Tracy apparently developed a blood disorder wherein
she no longer had enough platelets or other clotting factors.  There was
no outward sign of this - no bruising or problems of any kind.
 
During the surgery, she began bleeding from a spot on or near the liver -
well away from the surgery site.  She bled out in seconds.  A portion of
the liver was abnormal and sent out for pathology.
 
The vet feels that the bleeding disorder was a complication of the adrenal
disease and was most likely estrogen toxicity (listed in one book as a
very rare complication).  This is the same kind of problem that occurs in
intact females when they go into estrus and don't come out of it.
 
I believe firmly that the vet did nothing wrong here - I was there and saw
what was going on.
 
Please take a warning from my experience so that my Tracy didn't die for
nothing.  If your female shows signs of adrenal disease, have the surgery
performed as soon as possible - don't wait.
 
Kim
 
Missing Tracy, Hershey,
Jemm, and Arthur
[Posted in FML issue 3765]