To Pam Barber:
 
>She wants to do blood work first to see about insulinoma and adrenal
>disease but I thought that the only way to really be sure about each were
>exploratory surgery.  She said that it was too invasive first off.  I
>guess I would like a few opinions on this as well
 
    I suppose that a blood glucose is certainly in order befor insulinoma
surgery.  However, in my opinion, trying to identify the preence of adrenal
disease on routine bloodwork (CBC and chemistry) is very unrewarding.  Teh
adrenal panel out of the Univ. of Tennessee can help in this regard, but
if your ferret shows definite signs of adrenal disease, it's probably best
just to do the surgery.
 
--
Bruce Williams, DVM, DACVP              Department of Veterinary Pathology
[log in to unmask]                       Armed Forces Institute of Pathology
(202) 782-2600/2602                     Washington, D.C.  20306-6000
[Posted in FML issue 1241]