>From:    Eva C <[log in to unmask]>
>What kinds of experiences have you had with surgery and insulinoma.
 
Pixxel had insulinoma surgery three weeks ago and is doing superbly.
 
She started showing slight symptoms almost a year ago, very occasional
bouts of stumbling when she first woke up, but wasn't bad enough to need
any treatment (apart from being hand-fed a little kibble snack when she
looked groggy) until the beginning of October.  Then all of a sudden she
went downhill fast: complete crashes, stupor, not even enough energy to eat
or groom herself.  She must have known we were going on a trip and weren't
taking her. :)  Anyway, we scheduled her for surgery as soon as the vet had
an opening.  Two days later she was eating her regular food on her own
again and rattling the carrier door to play.  Now she's back to her playful
5.5-year-old self, dancing and dooking and pouncing on Rusty.
 
I recently received information about a study by Dr. Charles Weiss,
published at the beginning of November.  (Insulinoma in the Ferret:
Clinical Findings and Treatment Comparisons of 66 cases.  Journal of the
American Animal Hospital Association.  Nov/Dec 1998; 34:471-5) I haven't
had a chance to read it, but I'm told that the results recommend early
surgery over medication for best chances at improved longevity.  They also
recommend a partial pancreatectomy, when feasible, over just removing the
visible nodules.  I understand that the American Animal Hospital
Association will fax or snail mail out individual copies of Dr. Weiss's
article, unless they are bombarded with hundreds of requests.  Their Member
Services number is 1-800-883-6301.
 
From everything I've seen, ferrets recover from surgery very well, and if
your vet uses only isoflurane anesthesia and can do the surgery in as short
a time as possible the risk is low.
 
Best wishes to you and Gracie,
 
--
- Pam Greene                                  | If you were going to found
Ferret Central <http://www.ferretcentral.org/>| a preservation society for
  ftp://ftp.optics.rochester.edu/pub/pgreene/ | light, you'd want to invite
  INDEX FERRET to <[log in to unmask]>  | waveguides. -- Turan Erdogan
[Posted in FML issue 2497]