I've been seeing a lot of questions about this lately, and maybe I can
contribute some information.
 
It is most definitely possible to completely remove both adrenal glands and
have a healthy ferret.  What I have discovered over the past few months as
my technique for right adrenalectomy has improved, is that if you truly
remove both glands completely (without leaving a little piece of the right
one) the chances are high that you will have to supplement the ferret with
a low dose of cortisone and monthly injections of Percorten, which replaces
the other natural adrenal hormones besides cortisone.
 
I believe that in that past when we thought ferrets didn't need this
supplementation it was because we were not truly removing all of the right
gland.  I find the ferrets who don't need supplementation are in the
minority now that I'm able to do complete right adrenalectomies.  On the
bright side, these guys do really well and the drugs are not expensive.
 
Dr. K.
[Posted in FML issue 2712]