Hi FertFamilies:
This evening Bonnie is sleepy and a bit standoffish--but she came through
her adrenalectomy well and it was the right thing to do.  All her blood
tests were normal prior to surgery (We did not do the Tennessee panel, just
glucose, RBC's etc.).  No tumor was palpable, but she looked the victim of
prolonged and repeated chemotherapy--with pathetic little tufts of hair all
over (do they feel colder this way?).  Her left adrenal was 2-3 times normal
size and was removed.  Examination of the pancreas revealed no problem there
at the moment.  It did not have any apparent nodules.  She has a relatively
straight incision mid-ventrally--longer than I thought it would be.  Her
sutures are all internal to avoid the chance of nibbling, tugging, etc.  at
them.  She was chewing on the cage at the vets--she almost never does this
at home but wanted OUT!
 
I have her adrenal in formalin here on my desk!  I opted--as suggested by
our Florida Ferret friends--to bypass the pathology, although I may do it
myself (science types love to look at neat stuff like this!)--as I was
reminded that these tumors even if malignant do not metastasize and that if
they do there is not much treatment available--so the added expense seemed
moot.
 
Many thanks for your insights and stories--they help to know when the time
is right to act and I'm glad we did this now before other organ involvement
occurred.
 
My vet did not insist Bonnie be isolated from Clyde--so long as they are
restful while in the cage together.  It is working well--Clyde was frantic
on Friday when he could not find Bonnie--pried open the cage top (which he
never does) and wandered around the house for half the night rummaging here
and there.  He would not eat, would not accept treats until later today.
But when we brought Bonnie home the first thing he did was eat!  They are
curled up asleep and cozy right now and are probably settled in for the
evening until their usual late night playtime comes around.  Then I have to
keep Bonnie in the cage.  Again, many thanks for your suggestions and solid
information about this all-too-common ferret disorder.  We are relieved to
know we have such a resource and so many knowledgeable and kindly folks to
back us up.
 
Regards,
Gail, Bob and the kids Bonnie and Clyde   :-)
[Posted in FML issue 1909]