To Anne Charbonneau:
 
>Victor had an hypoglycemia crisis last friday.  He had a low levell of
>glucosis (2 tests: 25 g/dl and 50 g/dl..) We decided to go for the surgery
>as all others tests were normal.  This morning during the surgery, the vet
>phoned me.  He found also an enlarged adrenal (removed), 6 little
>insulominas (less than 3mm) and a big one of 1cm (removed), another strange
>tumor unattached (he never see this before and don't know what it is, any
>idea Drs???) and worst of all a tumor in the liver...
 
        Anne - let's not get all strung out just yet.   We got the big
insulinoma out, and the adrenal that you talked with me about off of the FML.
 I'm a little uncomfortable with the six little insulinomas (I thin that might
be adrenal hyperplasia - a non-tumorous proliferation of normal pancratic
cells, but provided there wasn't a lot of surgical trauma, that very well may
turn out okay, too.
 
        Regarding the liver tumor - I have seen a lot of misdiagnosed livers in
the last few years - liver tumors are RARE in ferrets.  Let's wait and see on
that one - I wouldn't get upset until the pathology report comes back on that
one.  Also the strange tumor may not be a tumor at all - only the pathologist
can tell when he looks under the microscope.  I've been fooled any number of
times when I try to tell just looking at an odd growth from a ferret with the
naked eye....
 
        Victor very well may surprise you.  I am assuming that the tissues were
sent off to the pathologist....?!!!
 
--
Bruce Williams, DVM, DACVP              Department of Veterinary Pathology
[log in to unmask]               Armed Forces Institute of Pathology
[log in to unmask]             Washington, D.C.  20306-6000
(202) 782-2600/2602
[Posted in FML issue 1177]