To anon concerning malignant adrenal tumors:
 
>She was operated on last spring, and had her adrenal gland removed.  The doc
>said that he thinks (by the lab results) that the tumor was malignant :(.
>Anyways, She appears to have recvered quickly, all her fur grew back faster
>than we thought it would...  all except for an inch or so in the middle of her
>tail  (she now looks k  like leo the lion!)  Anyways, I think she is now
>begining to lose a little fur at the base of her belly.  The vulva has not
>swollen up again, and she is as hyper as always.  I guess I am looking to find
>out how well otherlittle carpet sharks with the malignant tumor removed do
>following surgery.
 
        Malignant ferret adrenal tumors, if caught early, and the vast majority
are, have a good prognosis.  Metastasis appears to be uncommon, happening only
late in the disease.  So if you get your pet in early to the vet, chances are
that it will be confined to the adrenal and can easily be removed.  Of over
sixty adrenal malignancies, I ahve only seen threee metastasize.  One problem
that we do see with malignant adrenal tumors is that they grow rapidly and may
attain the size of a lemon.  When they get this big, they may rupture and the
animal may bleed to death internally.
 
        But the vast majority come out jsut fine, and ferrets do well.
 
        Your vet needs to look at the report from the pathologist who looked at
the tumro under the microscope to tell if the tumro was benign or malignant.
There is NO WAY to tell from lab work on a blood sample.
 
       Bruce Williams, DVM                 Department of Veterinary Pathology
       [log in to unmask]         Armed Forces Institute of Pathology
       (202) 576-2453/2454                 Washington, D.C.  20306-6000
 
[Posted in FML issue 0937]