Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Survival after spleen removal surgery in cats
By Gordon, Sebastian S N et al.·Published in Journal of feline medicine and surgery·2010·Veterinary Surgical Centers, United States·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: Outcome following splenectomy in cats.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of 19 cats underwent surgery to remove their spleens due to various conditions, with the most common being mast cell tumors. Many of these cats showed signs like a noticeable lump in their belly and loss of appetite before the surgery. After the operation, the average survival time was about 197 days, but those who had lost weight before surgery had a much shorter survival time of just 3 days. In contrast, cats without weight loss lived significantly longer, averaging 293 days post-surgery.
People also search for: cat spleen surgery recovery · cat abdominal mass symptoms · cat weight loss after surgery
Abstract
No studies have yet examined whether there are prognostic factors for survival for cats undergoing splenectomies. The medical records of 19 cats that had complete splenectomy were reviewed for information on preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative factors. The most common presenting signs were a palpable abdominal mass in 58% and anorexia in 47% of the cats. Mast cell tumors were the most common reason for splenectomy and were found in 10/19 cats (53%); followed by hemangiosarcoma in 4/19 (21%); and lymphoma in 2/19 (11%). The Kaplan-Meier median survival time (MST) was 197 days, with a range from 2 days to 1959 days. Three cats were noted to have preoperative weight loss, and this was the only factor that had prognostic significance for survival following surgery. For cats with weight loss the MST was 3 days, for cats with no weight loss noted the MST was 293 days (P=0.008).
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20153969/