Thanks to those who wrote me, and also to everyone else who has shared
similar stories over the years, it really helps to have some idea what to
expect.  Cully's surgery to remove his left adrenal went very well.  The
adrenal was 4 times normal size; I repeat again that the only clues to his
having an adrenal problem at all were behavioral, since he had no hair
loss, so watch those older ferrets' behavior patterns!  The mysterious
lumps in his abdomen had disappeared since the ultrasound three weeks ago,
but the vet biopsied a couple of lymph nodes just to be safe.  They also
biopsied his pancreas, since they do that as a matter of course whenever
doing surgery on older ferrets.  He's still at the vet now, because they
keep them in-house for dispensing painkillers, and should be coming home
today or tommorrow.  Yay!!!!
 
Just thought I'd share the outcome as a success story of adrenal surgery on
an older ferret-- Cully's somewhere around 8, but since he's overall very
healthy, he was an excellent surgical candidate despite his age.  :-)
 
Amelia, who has always steadfastly maintained that She Does Not Like That
Cully, has been sleeping in his favorite spots and I'm pretty sure misses
him.  Ferrets are funny creatures...
 
Regina
 
"I'm grazing with the dinosaurs and the dear old horses..."
                                                -- Nick Cave
Regina Harrison
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http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Lofts/1083
[Posted in FML issue 2772]