An ANONYMOUS poster on the FML wrote:
>This request came from the yahoo group I belong to Lisa is requesting
>information about ferrets that have died shortly after their implant.
>I have one friend that lost her little girl a week after her implant.
>Please email Lisa at [log in to unmask] if you have any
information.

I would caution anyone who chooses to jump on this 'bandwagon' to
seriously consider each case individually and consider the likelihood
or possibility for each case that the Deslorelin implant MAY have had
nothing at all to do with the ferret's death.

Ferrets that are receiving Deslorelin implants are doing so almost
always because they are suffering from adrenal disease. Some get the
implants in hopes of preventing adrenal disease, but the vast majority
already have it. In other words, they are already sick, possibly VERY
sick, with one or more tumors on their adrenal glands, and possibly
other tumors in other areas of their bodies. I would suggest that some
of these ferrets are a lot sicker than their owners may have realized,
and that they would have passed away with or without the Deslorelin
implants.

Of course, there is no way of knowing for sure in most cases, which
is why I would urge people who have lost their ferrets shortly after
implanting to consider that the deaths MAY have been caused by other
factors or illnesses. For example, I had one boy who died a few weeks
after getting his second Deslorelin implant, which was 9 months after
his first one. I had taken the extra step to do an ultrasound prior
to the second implant, and the ultrasound revealed that he had a HUGE
tumor (nearly 3 cm in diameter) on the right adrenal gland. Surgery was
impossible, so I went ahead with the second Deslorelin implant to buy
him as much additional time as possible. That additional time was only
a few weeks, but might have been only a few days had I not gotten
another implant. An observer in this case might have said that he went
downhill fairly quickly after getting that second implant, and thus
might have blamed his demise on the implant. But, since I did the
ultrasound, and knew about his condition, I could say that he passed
away despite getting the implant, and probably would have passed away
a lot sooner if he did not get it.

How may of you that lost ferrets shortly after getting a Deslorelin
implant had actually gotten an ultrasound done shortly before their
death, and can be sure that your ferret did not have a huge tumor that
would have killed that ferret anyway, with or without an implant? My
point is, that although there may APPEAR to be a cause and effect
relationship between receiving an implant and passing away, that
relationship MAY not really exist, due to any number of other
extenuating circumstances, some of which you might never have been
aware of. Let's be careful and keep our minds open to all possibilities
in each situation, and not turn this into a witch hunt which COULD
dissuade future users of Deslorelin implants from using this medicine
that could extend and improve the quality of life of a great many
ferrets.

Jeff
In Loving Memory of Neo, Trinity, Morphy, Dozer, Possum, Pip, Pop,
Sabrina, Minnie Mouse, Hunny, Misty, Frodo, Baggins, and Mr. Parker
Caring for Luna, Baby Girl, Boomer, and Zoomer

[Posted in FML 7413]