From:
Jen & Andre
Date: 2001-10-21 13:08:00 UTC
Subject: Splenomegaly, is 8 too old for surgery?
Hi, my 8 year old has what I believe to be splenomegaly. I
can feel a lobe that estends down from the bottom of her rib
cage (on the left), to the ilium, across the centre of her
belly and all the way down to nearly her pubic bone. It's a
bit hard and seems to be uncomfortable when I palpate it. In
the middle of her belly, her skin above the mass appears
blueish. She has trouble righting herself when laying on her
side. Her circulation seems fine, gums are pink and pinched
skin turns pink again quickly enough. Her heart rate seems
normal (@274 b/m), but wow, was it ever loud compared to the
others. Maybe because of the fact that she has very little
body fat, but maybe due to high blood pressure? She sleeps
more than usual and in my opinion, drinks more than normal
lately. This has come on fairly rapidly, she was perfectly
normal 5 months ago, but she came down with a flu bug that
really zapped her. She hasn't been the same since. She's going
in to my exotics vet tomorrow and I would like to have some
input from this list to help me make the best choices with
what my vet will recommend.
Surgery?
Thanks in advance,
Jen