Squigs Needs High Risk Surgery
Donation protected
Squigs, the Jack Russel, needs surgery for a mass on her adrenal gland as well as biopsies of other organs based on pre-operative diagnostic testing.
The story started when Squigs had booked in for a routine dental where she got pre-operative bloodwork done. This is recommended as it can show some issues that can make anaesthetic riskier. Luckily it was done as her liver showed abnormalities which can cause problems with how the anaesthetic is absorbed.
From here we went to specialist vets who discovered multiple organ issues. Despite all this she remains completely asymptomatic! She is like any other Jack Russel her age!!
Squigs will need her adrenal gland removed due to the risk it poses of possibly rupturing the vena cava artery suddenly. (Something we definitely don’t want)
Going over all her previous diagnostics with the surgeon, it has been decided to take biopsies of both pancreatic arms (the ultrasound said it was bad, the CT said it had no issues so testing is needed because if it is bad, it’s very bad - think cancer), a liver biopsy (because that’s what started everything in the first place and the CT shows multiple lesions), and a spleen FNA (due to CT results).
We decided against doing a bladder biopsy as the lesion is so small and we can wait for any symptoms if it might be growing.
It’s a very high risk surgery as the artery is a major blood vessel and fatal blood loss is a possibility but I would hate for her to have the same outcome randomly at home one day. We’re all hoping the adrenal gland is just pushing against the vena cava and not invading it as that makes it much less potential for blood loss.
I should add, pet insurance was not really an option as she is 11 years old and most companies don’t accept or change excessively for older pets
The story started when Squigs had booked in for a routine dental where she got pre-operative bloodwork done. This is recommended as it can show some issues that can make anaesthetic riskier. Luckily it was done as her liver showed abnormalities which can cause problems with how the anaesthetic is absorbed.
From here we went to specialist vets who discovered multiple organ issues. Despite all this she remains completely asymptomatic! She is like any other Jack Russel her age!!
Squigs will need her adrenal gland removed due to the risk it poses of possibly rupturing the vena cava artery suddenly. (Something we definitely don’t want)
Going over all her previous diagnostics with the surgeon, it has been decided to take biopsies of both pancreatic arms (the ultrasound said it was bad, the CT said it had no issues so testing is needed because if it is bad, it’s very bad - think cancer), a liver biopsy (because that’s what started everything in the first place and the CT shows multiple lesions), and a spleen FNA (due to CT results).
We decided against doing a bladder biopsy as the lesion is so small and we can wait for any symptoms if it might be growing.
It’s a very high risk surgery as the artery is a major blood vessel and fatal blood loss is a possibility but I would hate for her to have the same outcome randomly at home one day. We’re all hoping the adrenal gland is just pushing against the vena cava and not invading it as that makes it much less potential for blood loss.
I should add, pet insurance was not really an option as she is 11 years old and most companies don’t accept or change excessively for older pets
Organizer
Alex Tweedie
Organizer
Williamstown, VIC