From:
"Sukie Crandall"
Date: 2009-05-10 16:32:22 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Re: Need Vet Help - Mesenteric cysts?
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
--- In ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com, "mustelidmusk" <mustelidmusk@...> wrote:
>
> Hi,
> I'm adding more questions here since I've been searching high and low for info about mesenteric cysts in ferrets. I'm hoping a vet or someone else with information can respond with even a tiny bit of insight.
Mesenteric and Omental cysts are very rare in
mammals which is probably why you have not
received any replies. In humans they were more
common in hospitalized children than adults,
but whether that means they can go away on
their own some time, or if they are more common
in children who have other medical conditions,
or even if they are more responsive in children,
I don't know.
Finding anything on them at all meant going
away from ferrets but as i learn more I will
try different word combinations for searching:
http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/938463-overview
includes
BEGIN QUOTES
Etiology
As proposed by Gross, mesenteric and
omental cysts are thought to represent
benign proliferations of ectopic lymphatics
that lack communication with the normal
lymphatic system.9,18,19 Cysts are thought
to arise from lymphatic spaces associated
with the embryonic retroperitoneal lymph sac,
making them analogous to cystic hygromas,
which arise in the neck in association with the
jugular lymph sac.20 Another proposed etiology
is lymphatic obstruction;21however, experimental
occlusion of lymphatic channels in animals does
not produce mesenteric or omental cysts because
of the rich collaterals in the lymphatic system,
which sheds doubt on this particular theory.6,18,20
Other etiologic theories include (1) failure of the
embryonic lymph channels to join the venous system,
(2) failure of the leaves of the mesentery to fuse,
(3) trauma, (4) neoplasia, and (5) degeneration of
lymph nodes.8
...
Mesenteric and omental cysts can be simple or multiple,
unilocular or multilocular, and they may contain
hemorrhagic, serous, chylous, or infected fluid.8
[Differential diagnoses upon surgery follow.]
A very unusual presentation of a mesenteric cyst is that
of an irreducible inguinal hernia.1 The differential diagnosis
includes intestinal duplication cyst; ovarian, choledochal,
pancreatic, splenic, or renal cysts; hydronephrosis;
cystic teratoma; hydatid cyst; and ascites.22
END QUOTES
If they are in the wrong places and become very large
they can cause ascites, or can press on other organs,
irritating them or even obstructing the bowel in young
humans per the article above.
It's interesting that they mention teratomas. Adrenal
teratomas are rare but have happened in ferrets.
A surgical technique:
http://www.mssm.edu/msjournal/73/73_7_pages_1019_1020.pdf
Literature review:
http://content.karger.com/ProdukteDB/produkte.asp?Aktion=ShowPDF&ProduktNr=223996&Ausgabe=225621&ArtikelNr=18872
Page 284 of the vet text _Small Animal Radiology and Ultrasonography_:
<http://books.google.com/books?id=_h_2CfHWG88C&pg=RA1-PA284&lpg=RA1-PA284&dq=%22mesenteric+cysts%22+%2Bveterinary&source=bl&ots=Cn7ERaUFQK&sig=uR4YLemC0saG2Hs8HqxXc2QI7L0&hl=en&ei=-_0GSrHRA6CstgeJx6WRBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1>
In obese and elderly cats and dogs fat has at times gone necrotic and cysts have formed around that, isolating it:
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/119048737/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0
Gas cysts:
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/119892860/abstract
Links to a range of articles and a quick scroll found several that are related:
https://www.researchgate.net/literature/Anatomy/Bowel/2
Everything I have found says that they are usually benign, usually fluid filled, but they are watched because if they get large and are in the wrong place then surgery may be needed.
You will want to search more yourself using the links in some of these and using other resources like PubMed, Google Books, and Google Scholar:
Sukie (not a vet)
Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
http://www.miamiferret.org/
http://www.ferrethealth.msu.edu/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html
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