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Thread: Cody - 12 year old Pomeranian with adrenal mass

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Nov 2018
    Location
    Mesa, AZ
    Posts
    1

    Default Cody - 12 year old Pomeranian with adrenal mass

    Hello! We have a 12 year old Pomeranian named Cody who appears to have an adrenal tumor of some sort. For the past couple of years, he had some anomalous lab results, including slightly elevated ALT, elevated potassium, and low sodium, as well as low urine specific gravity going back for about four years at this point. The results were always very stable and he showed no outward symptoms, but given their persistence over time we wanted to get to the bottom of the matter and make sure there wasn't something going on.

    After settling down in Arizona our new local vet ran a test for Addison's which came back negative, and a subsequent referral to a specialty clinic determined via ultrasound that one pole of his left adrenal gland was enlarged to 1.1cm. An LDDST test for Cushing's came back negative as well. However, follow-up ultrasound has shown changes and a CT scan indicates that the 1.1cm pole on the previous ultrasound is now 1.5cm based on the CT report after waiting two months to gauge the growth. Surgery has been recommended by the specialist because of the growth even in the absence of clear clinical symptoms and they're going to give us a surgical referral. We intend to go through with the adrenalectomy as Cody is in really good health. He has an activity level of a far younger dog and no known major health issues at this time (he appears asymptomatic, his test results are actually improving, though there is concern that he might have some low level kidney disease that isn't showing up yet based on imaging of the kidneys). In the absence of a major health issue like this one he seems like he likely has a good few years of quality life ahead of him, so despite the potential risk of the surgery, we feel like we should give him a chance rather than take all those years away because we're afraid of losing him right now (in the absence of surgery the prognosis is that he might make it anywhere from a few months to a year).

    However, we're not sure what kinds of questions to ask after the referral to make a decision regarding the surgeon or facility that we'd want to have do the operation. We're based in the Phoenix area but travel quite a bit, and we're aware of both local facilities that may offer the procedure as well as ones further away (UC Davis comes up a lot, and VSH in San Diego is only a few hours from us in Phoenix). We'd appreciate any suggestions on what questions to ask to help us make a choice about the specialist and facility, and if anyone has any recommendations we would appreciate those as well.

    Thanks!

    John and Ashanna (and Cody)

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Georgia
    Posts
    15,292

    Default Re: Cody - 12 year old Pomeranian with adrenal mass

    Hello, and welcome to you all! Thanks so much for your very thorough introduction to Cody’s situation. From what you’ve described, it sounds as though there may be some type of adrenal hormone production that is affected, but the biggest issue seems to be the danger posed by the expanding tumor itself. Since that could be totally remedied by successful surgery, I surely understand why surgery is being recommended. As you already know, adrenal surgery does involve significant risks. But it sounds as though Cody would be a good candidate for the procedure, and successful surgery would give him every chance to live out his normal lifespan.

    Here is a link to a list of surgical questions that was compiled by one of our members whose dog did undergo successful adrenalectomy. Some of the questions may not be relevant to Cody’s situation, but others may be helpful to you. Take a look, and let us know what you think.

    http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/show...-adrenalectomy

    Once again, we’re very glad you’ve found us!
    Marianne

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    rural central ARK
    Posts
    14,549

    Default Re: Cody - 12 year old Pomeranian with adrenal mass

    Don't have anything to add to Marianne's comments but wanted to welcome you and Cody to K9C!
    "May you know that absence is full of tender presence and that nothing is ever lost or forgotten." John O'Donahue, "Eternal Echoes"

    Death is not a changing of worlds as most imagine, as much as the walls of this world infinitely expanding.

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