I got a call today that really bugged me and I wanted some other thoughts
on this.  My first hand knowledge of Insulinoma is rather limited, but
from everything I have read... something just seemed strange here.  This
person took her 4 year old (female MF) ferret in for a regular check up.
This ferret has been acting totally normal and healthy, no loss of appetite
or energy, no seizures, nothing... perfectly normal.  They did a blood
screen, because the owner wanted a baseline reading to have on file in case
there ever was a problem.  The vet said that the Glucose reading was 72,
which is low and indicated Insulinoma.  They waited and did another blood
test later and it was still in the same range.
 
The vet has now informed her that the only treatment is that they must go
in and do surgery within the next month to remove tumors.  The surgery is
expected to take 3 hours and cost $600-$800.
 
It seems odd to me that such drastic action be taken with an otherwise
totally healthy ferret on nothing more than a low reading on the bloodwork.
I know our shelter vet reccomends medication therapy and we have always
controlled and successfully treated cases of Insulinoma with meds.  She
says surgery is usually an option IF and WHEN the ferret has not responded
to med therapy, or the tumor is too large.  Furthermore she says that the
surgery is usually under 1.5 hours (including a *looksee* for other
problems) and her's usually run under $250.  They have never done any sort
of scan to look at the tumor, not tried medication, run any other tests...
zilch!  They are wanting to schedule this non-symptomatic, healthy ferret
for a long, obtrusive and expensive surgery on nothing more than a blood
test!
 
I told the person I am not THAT experienced with Insulinoma, but it just
didn't seem like normal procedure and I strongly reccomended a second
opinion.  She got the name and number of our shelter vet and is going to
contact her.
 
Those of you who have more experience with this condition than I... what's
your thoughts?
[Posted in FML issue 2975]