Date: Sat, 18 May 1996 00:55:32 -0500 To Rochelle: >I'm just writing in case anyone out there has any suggestions on alterative >treatments for inoperable adrenal tumors. Our eldest had her surgery last >week, and the vet did find the start of an adrenal tumor - but it couldn't >have started in a worse place. Even though it's small, it has already >fused to the wall of the vena cava, and can't be removed... Rochelle: The right adrenal gland in ferrets is commonly seen in close association with th vena cava, but most experienced vets can remove them, or at least debulk them. One major problem that I see here is that I see no evidence that your vet even tried to remove this "small tumor" or take a biopsy to find out if it is benign or malignant. One cardinal rule of adrenal surgery is never to come out empty handed. At least take a section of te adrenal to find out what you are dealing with. Medical treatment of adrenal tumors is sketchy at best, and rarely successful. Ovaban doesn't treat the tumor, it appears to counteract the hair loss in many cases, but the tumor will continue to grow. Other drugs we use commonly in adrenal disease in dogs and cats, such as Lysodren, may be used at significantly higher doses in ferrets, but the results are unpredictable and usually disappointing. Here is a suggestion - give Charlie Weiss a call at Potomac Animal Hospital at (301) 299-4142/4143. He has done surgery on quite a few cases when the referrring vets were unwilling to do it, with excellent results in most cases. I would choose surgery over medical management any day. Bruce Williams, DVM [Posted in FML issue 1576]