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Adrenal Gland Tumor Surgery

Adrenal gland tumors are extremely common in the ferret. Although this condition often begins with hairloss, it is a progressive, debilitating disease that has an impact on the ferret’s quality of life. Of the two treatment options (surgical and medical), surgical removal of the affected adrenal gland(s) is the best treatment for the following reasons:

  1. Surgical removal of the adrenal gives a good chance for curing the disease (medical therapy can reverse symptoms, but does not change the tumor).
  2. 25% of adrenal tumors in ferrets are malignant.
  3. At surgery the other organs (specifically the pancreas) can be closely inspected for signs of tumors.

Since surgery of the ferret adrenal gland can be technically difficult, it is very important to have an experienced ferret surgeon perform the procedure. When the left adrenal gland is affected, surgical removal is relatively straightforward. In contrast, the right adrenal gland in the ferret is attached to the vena cava (the largest vein in the body).

It is this attachment that makes right adrenal gland removal a technically difficult surgery. To help avoid some of the potential complications of this difficult surgery (bleeding, long surgical time), Dr. Weiss uses the laser for all of his surgical procedures.