I am new to the FML and to the internet so forgive me if this is something
that has been covered before.  I have a three year old spayed female that
has a swollen vulva and some very minor hair lose on the tip of her tail.
I know this means that most likely she has adrenal gland tumors.  I have
had an ultrasound done on her that appeared normal, so the next step is
exploratory.
 
My question is how difficult is this procedure for a vet who has never done
one before?  The vet is actually my boss and he said he would be willing to
attempt it, but has never done an adrenal gland surgery in a ferret before.
I have already contacted the one vet in my area that is experienced in this
area and was given a quote of up to $1000 which is just too high in my
opinion.  Then again, I know very little about what is involved in this
surgery so that may be reasonable.
 
My other question/concern is about the statistics for this disease.
Everything I have read up to now states that the majority of cases effect
the left gland.  I have read and also been told that when in doubt, take
the left.  If this is true, then my situation is not so bad considering
that the left is rather easy to get to.  The problem I am having though is
that the experienced vet that I mentioned told me that in her experience,
she encounters problems with both glands equally and in many cases has
found tumors on both glands and done a bilateral adrenalectomy.  (correct
term?)  She also stated that it was her belief that the reason so many
ferrets that have had adrenal surgery in the past and have had the left
removed, end up with problems in the right is because the right gland was
the problem all along and just wasn't looked at closely enough.  She told me
that if the right gland is the one with the tumor and the left is removed,
the sudden drop in hormone levels could cause the symptoms to disappear-
for awhile.  She said that all of these ferrets we here about that have
undergone a previous adrenal gland surgery and have developed problems with
the remaining gland are possibly still suffering from the initial onset of
the disease and that it was missed the first time around.
 
I personally don't know enough about ferrets to know who is correct or what
the "standards of care" are.  I don't know whether I will be placing my
ferret in jeopardy by allowing an inexperienced vet to do the surgery.  I
would just like to be as informed as possible before July 7th, when she
goes under the knife.  Any help will be greatly appreciated!
 
Sincerely,
Stacia and the ferts who own
her: Kali, Rama, Krishna, and Sati
[Posted in FML issue 2357]