Hello! 


First off I guess I ended up with a rare ferret. When he was diagnosed with insulinoma and adrenal disease we tried the adrenal implants and injections which he did not respond too and the use of prednisolone was hit or miss. We had to gradually increase his dose too often. That could have been his weird lack of response or just the advancement of the cancer. So since he wasn't responding to any kind of treatment we opted for surgery. He just recently underwent a right adrenalectomy and a partial pancreatectomy. Unfortunately it has been over 2 weeks and he is still not well. He has presented persistently with fevers from 103.5 to 106.4 and we are having a hard time keeping them under control. He became diabetic after surgery with glucose in the 700's. He did not respond to NPH, but glargine seemed to do the job. He is currently between 130 and 140mg/dl. That is some good news. He is not walking upright on his back legs for more than a minute before he just pushes himself with his back legs across the carpet. We have done a 10 day course of amoxi, baytril & penicillin combo for fevers, meloxicam for pain, carafate & pepcid for GI & stool, and pedialyte and LRS as needed for electrolytes and dehydration. We are now doing a 10 day course of oral baytril. He developed black tarry stool and it seems better today, but he's no longer eating and drinking on his own much. I have been force feeding him epigen 90 and duk soup. He is also "not himself." He stares into space and slowly acts as if he's falling asleep in the cage (slowly sinks down) and trembles in his sleep and groggy stages(not his usual). He's been doing more "deep" sleep since surgery. He's a limp noodle when I go to wake him up. Unusual for him to do that so often. He generally does that maybe twice a year. The vet I go to is having a hard time with this case. I believe these surgeries generally go well for him, but my guy is having a rough time. The surgery was successful and he did great for a few days after, then the fever struck. They got good margins on the pancreas and debulked the right adrenal bc it was wrapped around the vena cava. I also believe they burned him on accident on a heating pad and he has two symmetrical burns on each side of his back. It was generally address since I guess it's hard to admit this happening. I know burns can make you susceptible to infection. Not sure if this is a factor at this point and he already did the amoxi. They are healing. He was also on prednisolone prior to surgery to control his insulinoma. We weaned him off of this after surgery. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated if any of you have experienced the same thing after major surgery. Last but not least he is older. He's almost 7. This surgery is definitely keeping me from pursuing it on my other baby. I want the best for them, but I also don't want them to suffer! 


Thanks!

Wow, that sounds like a tough row to hoe.
The fevers suggest infection, but you're doing about all you can for it.  Honestly, you are the first case I know of where the vet even attempted a right adrenalectomy, due to its proximity to the vena cava.  Your vet must be good.  
Is it possible he picked up a nosocomial infection at the vet during surgery, like coccidia?  A broad spectrum antibiotic like Metronidazole may help.  The others are only effective against bacteria.

I don't know what else to suggest...
Good luck.

THE DOOKS OF HAZARD

Thanks for the response!

The fever sounds like infection to me too or the organs trying to kick back in gear. Anything happening in the body can cause fever, but I was hoping by now after 2 types of antibiotics and time the fevers would subside. 

My vet is pretty good which is why I chose him for the surgery, but unfortunately he's unsure of what's happening to him right now and really hasn't been offering much help other than checking in. I work at a veterinary clinic and have just kind of been trying my own course of treatment. 

I did a fecal with gram stain and he tested negative for ova, parasites, giardia, and bacteria. That was at least good news!

Thanks any ways for your thoughts. I thought this would be a good place to check since there are so many other ferret owners and they may have experienced the same thing. Guess I got unlucky with my guy. ) :

Now to decide if it's worth the heartache for my other boy. He also has some rare gallbladder disease to take into consideration!