Re: Issue 768 Vulvar swelling in a young female.
If your female is indeed under 3 years of age, this makes the possibility of
adrenal disease causing the swelling less likely, but still not impossible.
Also we have had two cases of young ferrets  with vulvar swelling with
ECTOPIC (misplaced) ovarian tissue.  The ovarian tissue found on an
exploratory was not in the spot that you would expect, but rather it was in
the mesentery (the fat around the intestines).  We speculated that when the
original spay was done (at 5 weeks of age) that ovarian cells survived and
migrated to an area where they took up a blood supply and grew and
multiplied.  They were then able to produce hormones and voila, vulvar
swelling.  When doing an exploratory on ferrets, you must look at every
tissue.
The MOST COMMON cause of vulvar swelling in ferrets 3 and older is adrenal
cancer or hyperplasia.  The adrenal gland can produce sex hormones and in the
ferret, estrogen precursors are the most common hormone overproduced in
adrenal disease, thus vulvar swelling and hair loss.  Did the vet look at the
adrenals?  They well may have been hyperplastic.
Your vet can run some hormone studies on your pet to determine the type of
estrogens being produced by your pet whether from ovarian tissue or from
adrenal.  He can contact our office at 708-344-8166 or better yet, FAX us
with the request at 708-344-8194 and we will send him information on the lab,
that is in Tennessee.
I am very concerned about the swelling, as it indicates there are either
estrogens or estrogen like hormones being produced and your pet may
experience anemia.  You should have a complete blood cell count done monthly
for 6 months to detect any problems.  Keep the vulva lubricated with a
vaseline based product because secondary vaginitis and dermatitis are common.
I will be out of town from 3/26 to 4/2 (Spring break with the kids) and will
pick up my last email 3/25  by which time I think Dr. WIlliams will be back.
Two very excellent California vets are Dr. Jeff Jenkins (San Diego
California, strictly exotic animal and lots of ferret experience)
619-260-1489  FAX is619-260-1499 and Dr. Doug Mader (Long Beach near L.A.)
310-434-9966 and FAX is 310-597-4226
Good Luck
Susan Brown, D.V.M.
 
[Posted in FML issue 0770]