>From:  Barbara Gustafson <[log in to unmask]>
>Tippie my Olympic wanna be has a problem that has been going on for well
>over a year now.  She scratches constantly.  She will be three this year.
>At age 1 1/2 she underwent surgery for adrenal tumor.... and she >bounced
>right back... She also will occasionally get what I can hot spots, >where
>the skin at the back of her neck will look reddish for a while.  Also >her
>hair is thin...
 
I've seen three posts lately of post-adrenelectomy ferrets with problems
including excessive urination, drinking, and scratching, and hair loss or
thinning.  I hope others who have had post-adrenalectomy ferrets (shelter
operators who have seen many adrenalectomy patients?) can help us out.
 
Recently Lorraine Trombley wrote about her ferret, Pepe La Pew, a 4-yr-old
female, who "drinks and scratches herself more often" since adrenal surgery,
and who has a more "reddish-golden-brown" belly area, and possibly thinner
skin, smells muskier "like ear wax" and has split or broken whiskers.  Dixie
Carter has also written that her ferret, who had an adrenalectomy as well,
was found during exploratory to have a cyst on the prostrate that has
continued to cause problems - though the cyst was drained during surgery -
including increased urination and drippiness.  And now Barbara is writing
about Tippie.
 
Our Percy, like Barbara's Tippie, is highly energetic, with a good appetite
and lots of energy.  He's on an excellent diet of Totally Ferret mixed with
the hightest quality cat growth foods.  He started loosing hair last August
and had exploratory surgery in November with suspected adrenal problems.
His right adrenal was slightly enlarged and part of it was removed.  Percy
grew his hair right back.
 
Other pre-surgery symptoms included excessive itchiness, drinking, and
urinating, and dragging little, runt Minnie (pretty pure-white albino lady
of 1 lb.  4 oz.) about by the scruff of her neck.  He never lost weight
pre-surgery.  He had had a bad virus, probably ECE, in August, and lost
weight then, but gained it quickly back prior to the November surgery.
During the pre-surgery exam, our vet felt a grossly enlarged mesentary
gland, which drains the stomach and intestines, and suspected a link to the
viral or bacterial infection in August.  In any case, Percy grew his hair
back after surgery, seemed "re-born" in terms of energy and joy (though he
was always perky) and temporarily quit carrying Minnie about like a prize
possesion.
 
Four months later and he's not dragging Minnie, he's carrying her from room
to room, prancing proudly and pertly.  His fur is thin on the shoulders and
his tummy is bald.  He feels warmish to the touch, though I don't notice any
strong or unusual smell (but then I love how ferrets smell and don't have a
highly sensitive smeller).  He urinates more frequently than the other
ferrets and drips quite a bit.  He also has more scratching fits than the
others (if that's possible).  My partner, Janos, thinks he's prone to fits
of energy stemming from possible bursts of hormones, but he's a man and
likes to blame things on hormones ;)
 
In any case, I'd like to see Percy back to normal.  Is there any hope?
 
Percy's vet never concluded that he did have adrenal problems, as the
adrenal tissue showed hyperplasia (I think this was the term), but the vet
said any four-year-old ferrets adrenal gland might exhibit the same sort of
tissue, though it might never lead to adrenal problems.  He said the
prostate and bladder seemed fine, but the mesentary gland was enlarged,
though a biopsy turned up nothing nasty.  Percy got prednisone for a couple
weeks and the gland shrunk quite a bit.  Our vet theorized that the gland
(about 3/4 of an inch across enlarged) could have been causing Percy
discomfort by pressing on his bladder.  He said it was probably enlarged due
to excessive bacteria, which the predisone and antibiotic would probably get
rid of.
 
In any case I'll be checking with vets on this soon, but wanted to try and
get some feedback from those experienced with post-adrenalectomy ferrets.
 
Personally, I suspect a prostate problem.  If he had a UT infection it
should have worsened, and he's been a couple rounds of antibiotics post
surgery.  I suppose he could have a low-grade infection from prostate
problem complications.  The right adrenal was so small in Nevember, though
bigger than the left, that it doesn't seem much could be done at this point
surgery wise.  I suspect the Tennessee adrenal panel could be done, but for
what if not surgery.  Is there medication that could help?
 
I sure would like to at least get a solid diagnosis on this, as Percy is a
sweetheart and spent his first two years in a university lab training
medical techs to intubate humans.  Not that he was badly treated, but he
deserves as great a life as possible for all his hard work!
 
So please send any ideas or experiences you might have that might help
Percy's situation, and those other post-adrenalectomy fur children whose
health is compromised.
 
Thank you very, very much!
 
Lynn Mc.
[Posted in FML issue 1891]