Some of you may have been following my posts on my recent rescue ferret,
Sprite.  So I thought I would send an update.  She went in today for
adrenal surgery and Insulinoma.  I just got a call from our vet.  He said
that she had a huge, ugly black tumor on her right adrenal gland that was
growing into her liver.  He was able to completely remove this mass
without her having any major bleeding problems.  The left adrenal was
normal.  He could find no evidence of tumors in the pancreas, but took
some biopsies.  Her spleen was huge (knew this prior to the surgery) and
had a huge tumor on it.  He called it a hemangiosarcoma.  He admits that
he is not terribly knowledgeable about these tumors in ferrets.  He knows
they are bad news in dogs.  He is sending it off for further analysis.
He said there is a possibility it could be a hemangioma, which I gather
is a better diagnosis than hemangiosarcoma (at least in dogs).
 
Sprite seems to have come throught the surgery okay, and he is taking
her home with him tonight to keep an eye on her.  He said he would call
me again this evening and keep me posted on her progress.  In this case,
I went against the normal recommendation and did not use the most
ferret-knowledgeable vet in our area.  I have done quite a bit of calling
and checking around and have come to the conclusion that in Greenville,
SC, (to the best of my knowledge), there is only one veterinarian that is
very ferret knowledgeable, and I have used him once before.  However, I
was not very impressed with him or his office staff.  My old vet (one I
always took our dogs to), while not a ferret expert, is a wonderful
veterinarian who always goes the extra mile.  Both have performed adrenal
surgeries for me and there was less scarring, bruising and a better
looking incision when my old vet did it.  You can tell he went into his
profession because of his love and concern for animals.  While he is not
a ferret expert, he is very willing to try to learn more about them.  He
has even indicated that he likes ferrets and has considered getting one
himself.  He is known for being very good with cats.  He told me today
that he was going to do some research to learn more about hemangiosarcomas
in ferrets.  I feel like I made the right decision in getting him to do
the surgery.  Just keep little Sprite in your prayers.
 
During the 3 weeks I've had her, I've been able to fatten her up a good
bit with duck soup feedings.  So I think she was in pretty good shape
prior to the surgery (all things considered).  For those of you that have
given me advice since I adopted her, I wanted to thank you and fill you
in on the latest developments.  I also was hoping some of you would know
something about hemangiosarcomas in ferrets.  I need to get on the Ferret
Health mailing list, but in the meantime, would appreciate any information
anyone can give me.
 
Thank You all,
Holly
Tigger, Pooh & Sprite
 
[Moderator's note: FHL subscription info sent.  BIG]
[Posted in FML issue 3659]