To Surgery to Not to Surgery - That is the Question

Last week the vet brought up that Clooney is a good candidate for the surgical treatment of his insulinoma.  I was surprised to hear this given his age.  Hubs and I are considering our options - I am leaning towards and he is less enthusiastic.

The surgery goes in and allows the vet to remove the tumors from the pancreas.  This is not a cure, but rather provides Clooney 18 - 24 months of time with no symptoms and no need for the meds that he is currently on.  The other benefit is that they can check out some other things while they are in there - his large spleen to make sure it is just large and not diseased and his adrenal gland which ferrets are notorious for having issues with.

I am scared to have him go through surgery - there are always risks...but - the thought of him not needing meds, not having to be poked as often to check his blood sugar, not having to be boarded when we travel - separated from his ferret siblings which he would hate - these all make me think that we should strongly consider having it done. He would likely be symptom free for the rest of his life.

Regardless of what we choose - I would want to wait for him to put on some weight.  He is pretty scrawny at the moment...Decisions like this are tough...