View Full Version : Experienced Surgeon in CT
ChapushCT
09-21-2017, 10:45 PM
Hello,
Thank you for allowing me to join.
My 11 yo Yorkie/Russell boy, Chapush, was diagnosed with a 1.1cm left adrenal mass via ultrasound yesterday. His IMS believes it to be a pheo based on my reported symptoms of 3 months & high blood pressure.
He has be placed on 5mg of Enalapril to regulate his bp and we are discussing surgery.
Could someone share the name of an experienced surgeon either in CT, MA or NY?
Thank you!
Margaret
DoxieMama
09-22-2017, 08:51 AM
Hello Margaret! Welcome to you and Chapush, though I'm sorry about the diagnosis. I'm going to share a couple links with you ...
First, our Helpful Resources Forum (http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=10) has a TON of information that you might find useful. I must be honest and say I haven't gone through probably half of it, but those articles which I have looked through are great. There may be something there of interest.
Second and third, from that forum, the thread on finding an IMS (http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/showthread.php?t=182) contains a link to the website address for the ACVIM:
http://www.acvim.org/AnimalOwners.aspx
From there, you can click on "Find a Specialist" and search for a veterinary surgeon in your area.
Somewhere around here is a really helpful list of questions to ask your surgeon but I'm not finding that this morning. Hopefully someone else will have that handy and share with you. :)
In the meantime, would you mind sharing more information about Chapush? What symptoms lead you to test for Cushings in the first place? Do you have copies of the test results and could share the results which are out of normal ranges (please include the ranges as not all labs are the same).
Again, I am so sorry to learn of Chapush's diagnosis but you've found a great resource here with us. I'm sure others will be by with more questions and information to help you navigate the road ahead.
Shana
molly muffin
09-22-2017, 09:47 PM
Hello, I don't know any surgeons personally, but you are looking for a board certified surgeon with a long of experience with adrenalectomies with a good outcome.
I found the list that Shana mentioned and I'm going to copy it here. It is a good idea to go through it, print it out and take it with you when speaking with possible surgeons:
This was put together by one of our members Trish whose dog Flynn under went an adrenalectomy for a pheo successfully.
Part I is for owners in the initial stages, when an adrenal tumour has been identified and they are considering if surgery is even an option for their dog.
Part II is for when surgery has been decided upon and what questions might help when they are discussing it with their surgeon.
Part I - Questions to ask when considering if surgery is an option for your dog’s adrenal tumour:
1. What type of tumour do you suspect, ?functional, ?non-functional, pheochromocytoma, benign, metastatic
2. Expected life span for my dog in a normal situation. If your dog is close to, at or past his expected lifespan for his breed is surgery going to be of any benefit?
3. Prognosis for my dog if we treated medically i.e. with Cushings medications. AND if we do not proceed with surgery how long do you think it would be before the tumour started adversely affecting his quality of life?
4. If he is miserable now, does the benefit of potentially risky surgery outweigh his current quality of life?
5. Are there any other health problems that could impact on a positive surgical outcome, for example: if your dog is overweight or has heart, BP, liver, kidney or lung conditions
6. Is there any sign of tumour spread – imaging should be done, including ultrasound and on advice of specialists either CT or MRI to check whether there is local invasion around the tumour, into blood vessels including vena cava or spread further away in the body to lungs etc
7. Surgeon recommendations – would he/she do it for their own dog?
8. Psychological impact for the owner: It is important to understand this is risky surgery, sadly current guidelines indicate 1:5 dogs do not make it, and some recommendations are not even that high. Can you accept it if your dogs dies during or in the postoperative recovery period surgery? This is where it is important to weigh up whether the benefit of your dog being fully cured is worth the risk of possibly losing him.
9. Financially – can you afford it? Find out estimate of costs.
10. Hopefully this will not happen, but if your dog collapses, e.g his heart stops either during his surgery or afterwards what emergency measures should be undertaken, do you want your dog to have CPR, how far are you (the owner) willing to go for your dog to be saved in such circumstances
Part II - Surgery has been recommended as treatment for your dogs adrenal tumour, here are a few suggestions on what questions you should ask your surgeon:
1. Are you board certified? How many operations of this type have you done? What complications have you experienced? What were the outcomes?
2. Please explain to me how you will do the surgery, which part would likely give you the most trouble? Will you be doing the actual surgery or a resident in a teaching situation? If so, is their close supervision?
3. Will there be a specialist anaesthetist available for the surgery?
4. If it hasn’t been done, do we need a CT/MRI scan to look at the tumour more closely to check for vena cava involvement or any other tumour spread?
5. What are the risks associated with this surgery, including
• Bleeding (including trauma to blood vessels or other organs during surgery)
• clots
• Blood pressure or heart problems such as arrhythmias
• pancreatitis
• pneumonia
• kidney failure
• infection
• wound problems
• bowel problems
• anaesthetic risks
• adrenal insufficiency or electrolyte abnormalities
• death (sorry but you have to ask that risk too)
6. If we proceed with surgery does my dog need preoperative treatment with Cushing’s meds, antihypertensive if high blood pressure is a problem – phenoxybenzamine recommended preoperatively for dogs with pheochromocytoma, anticoagulants or anything else?
7. How will you treat to prevent clots postoperatively?
8. What would you do if you found anything else during the surgery i.e. nodules in other organs e.g. spleen, opposite adrenal, liver, kidney. Would you remove them and what are the risks associated when doing additional abdominal surgery together with adrenalectomy
9. How long will it take and when will you contact me so I know all is OK, when can I visit after surgery?
10. How will the postoperative period go, how long would you anticipate he would need to stay in hospital? How will we manage pain?
11. What monitoring would be needed, e.g. heart monitoring, oxygen levels in the postoperative period
12. If your dog has an adrenocortical tumour affecting cortisol production will he need to be on steroids following surgery and for how long?
13. If there are problems when I take him home, who do I contact? Hopefully the surgical team until all is stable.
Some of the others might have a recommendation when they stop in.
ChapushCT
09-23-2017, 09:09 PM
Hello,
Thank you both for your welcome. Chapush and I are in a bit of a holding pattern until Tuesday when I'll be able to reconnect with his IMS. The IMS we have been seeing is very reassuring, but also on the verge of retirement, so I'm not sure how engaged he will be moving forward, but I'm prepared to be Chapush's advocate for the long term.
And I appreciate the list of questions! They will be very helpful in the coming weeks as we develop a treatment plan.
Margaret
molly muffin
09-26-2017, 10:20 PM
Did you connect with the IMS today? What where his thoughts?
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