Dear Jen
 
>The bad news comes from my sweetie, who is not very fond of ferret perfume
>and has politely asked me to seriously reconsider descenting Teresa and
>the baby.  My vet does not promote descenting, but I wanted to get some
>opinions from anyone who has been through this - good and bad.... Jen
 
I am a strong proponent of not descenting.  While this is not a common
problem in the states,as most pets come from ferret farms whcih normally
descent kits at 4 weeks, descenting older animals can lead to serious
complications, which generally increase in proportion to the age at which
the animal is descented.
 
AS the animal gets older, more and more fibrous tissue is present around
the anal sacs, and the surgery is more difficult, and the incidence of
complications rises concomitantly.  Possible side effects are mostly
variants of incomplete removal, in which portions of the sacs are left in
the animal, with no ability to vent their contents to the outside.  AFter
the incision heals over, the remnants continue to secrete into the
surrounding muscle and you end up with a nasty draining tract and little
hope fo surgically finding the source.  Or you may have dehiscence, in
which the suture line breaks down, and fecal matter gets into it (as it
is in close apposition with the anus).  I've even seen worse disasters,
one in which there was a very sloppy job of descenting, and collapse of
the anus inside the pelvic canal, peritonitis and death.
 
Non-descented animals fairly rarely express their anal sacs - the fleeting
unpleasant odor is far more preferable than taking a chance on a long-term
complication.
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, dVM
[Posted in FML issue 3218]