To Becki Kain -
 
>I have a question for the vets - Escher, my MF six year old female, has had
>both adrenal glands removed and part of her pacreas.  How does a ferret live
>without adrenal glands and is there something I should or shouldn't be giving
>to her (food, medication, etc...)?
 
        Ferrets without any adrenal glands don't last very long.  Now many
ferrets have small bits of ectopic adrenal tissue in the abdomen which
secrete the necessary hormones to sustain life.  I would definitely talk
with your vet soon about replacement hormones.  While I used to think that
bilaterally adrenalectomized ferrets all died regardless of therapy, Dr. Joe
Bock of Golden Colorado is currently amintianing five ferrets with
replacement prednisone, and in other cases, a combination of prednisone and
another steroid to replace the adrenal glands which have been removed. So
now there is hope for ferrets that have had both adrenals removed.
 
        I also think that a lot of animals that have had "both adrenals"
removed may have only had parts of one or both removed - many vets are
uncomfortable at removing the right adrenal due to the heavy blood supply,
so only remove the part that is easy to  get at....
 
Bruce Williams, DVM, DACVP
Dept. of Vet Path, AFIP
[log in to unmask]  OR
Chief Pathologist, AccuPath
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[Posted in FML issue 1295]