> From:   Joe Beiter <[log in to unmask]>
> Well I took Weeze to the vet about her rat-tail and enlarged vulva and
> upon viewing diagnosed it as an adreanal problem needing surgery.  He
 
Sounds like a classic adrenal tumor.  Given the rat tail and enlarged
vulva there is little doubt in my mind.  (assuming, of course, that
she's not in heat - which is unlikely unless she's very young)  Well,
there's also the possiblitly of a munged spay.  A small piece of the
overies could be causing problems.  But, I've never seen a case of this,
and I've seen quite a few adrenals.
 
$600 seems a bit steep.  But I would go with the more experienced
vet.  Ferrets are extremely small, which makes them difficult to
work on.  Therefore, experience means a lot.  I've seen nicked
bladders, and other problems with inexperienced vets.
 
As far as the surgery goes, as I said in the previous list, when it
works it is a miracle cure.  The hair grows back in, the vulva goes down,
and everyone is happy.  But, it is a major surgery.  They go in through
the abdomen and the adrenals are located on the back above the kidneys.
So all the internal organs have to be moved around to get there.
Also, the shock to the system of having an adrenal tumor removed is
somtimes too much, and the animal will die within several days after
the surgery.  (again, the numbers are around 1 in 8-10)
 
I'm not saying this to scare you, but you should be aware that
there is a risk.  It's not an extraordinarily complicated surgery,
but it is a bit tricky given the size of the animal.  (another example,
a local vet here was even unable to find the adrenal once.  It was
imbedded in some fatty tissue.)  So, I think it is definately worth
getting done.  The benefits far outweigh the risk.  But, you should
also go for the more experienced vet.
 
Have your vet call Dr. Kawasaki (see prev. mailing list).  He's one
of the foremost experts on this type of thing.
 
I just checked my records.  When I had Percy's adrenals done last May
by Dr. Kawasaki, he charged me $158.50 for the whole thing including
pre-surgery bloodwork.  But, you should note, he's not in a large
vet practice, so you wouldn't expect his prices to be high.  For me
the cost of travelling plus surgery was about the same as having
surgery done up here.  (I was also was lucky and had an extremely
nice person put me up - and put up with me - so that I could afford
it)
 
Where are you located?  Maybe we can find a more experienced vet for
you within a reasonable distance.
 
BTW, Percy is doing fabulously.  Her coat now looks better than it
has looked since she was a kit!  The only problem she had was that
she had a little more difficulty getting her temperature to stabilize
after surgery than most ferrets.  Nothing to worry about, though.
They keep them on a heating pad until their temp. does stabilize.
She recovered quickly, and well.  Once her fur grew back where they
shaved her, you would never even know it happened.  (You should note
that I did catch Percy's adrenal extremely early.  She never did get
a "rat tail", just thinning fur and a slightly swollen vulva.)
 
One of our shelter ferrets had it done not too long ago.  Cindy wasn't
going to do it at first since the ferret is so old.  She deemed that
the risk outweighed the potential benefits.  But, she changed her mind
and decided to have her operated on.  The ferret went from being almost
completely bald, with other advanced symptoms, to now having a nice
coat growing in.  As an elderly ferret they were worried that she
wouldn't even make it through the surgery.  She showed us!
 
- Nancy
 
Nancy Hartman                                   CIS graduate student
[log in to unmask]                                U. of Delaware
        President and founder, Delaware Valley Ferret Club
          Owner of Percy, Bree, & Popcorn, the ferrets
 
[Posted in FML issue 0464]