Splenectomy in Cats

Gordon SSN, McClaran JK, Bergman PJ et al: Outcome following splenectomy in cats, Journal of Feline Medicine & Surgery 12:256, 2010.

A complete splenectomy is indicated as a treatment for suspected malignant neoplasia or generalized splenic enlargement secondary to infiltrative disease of the spleen. The most common splenic diseases in cats are mast cell tumors (MCTs), lymphoma, and myeloproliferative disease. There have been no studies that examine prognostic factors for survival of cats undergoing splenectomy.  The medical records of 19 cats were reviewed for this study. The most common reasons for splenectomy in these cats were MCTs (53%), hemangiosarcoma (21%), and lymphoma (11%). A number of studies, including this one, indicate systemic mastocytosis with splenic involvement appears to be the most common cause of spenomegaly and splenic disease in domestic cats. Anorexia, significant weight loss, and male gender have been shown to be negative prognostic indicators for cats with splenic MCTs.  Three cats in this study had preoperative weight loss and this was the only factor identified as a prognostic indicator of survival following surgery. The median survival time for cats with weight loss was 3 days. In cats with no weight loss, the median survival time was 293 days. [VT]

Related articles:
Litster AL, Sorenmo KU: Characterisation of the signalment, clinical and survival characteristics of 41 cats with mast cell neoplasia, J Feline Med Surg 8:177, 2006.

More on cat health: Winn Feline Foundation Library
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