Thoughts on surgery for 14 yr old kitty.

On Jun 11, 10:05*am, geekgrrl wrote:
Hi,

Thanks for all the responses. *I thought I would post an update.

Abbott went in this morning for surgery. They are going to remove the
bladder stone and the cyst on his pancreas. *The vet hopes that once
they get in there and have a look, they can better determine why the
cyst was formed in the first place, and what the chances are of it
forming again.

Best wishes to you and Abbott. I hope he pulls through the surgery
well. I hope there are no complications, but if he does develop
pancreatitis, I have experience with that, so feel free to email me.

Rene

Abbott did not pull through the surgery. This was completely
unexpected by the vet as his bloodwork was good, he looked healthy,
alert and eating well.
The surgery itself went well, but his blood pressure dropped during
the surgery, and they were never able to get it back up. He eventually
went into cardiac arrest. They had asked about rescusitation(sp?), and
as they said his heart was strong, I said try, but not too long -
basically give him a chance to come back, but at some point you have
to let go. He was a fighter, and came back three times, but eventually
it was too much.

The hospital asked about doing a post-mortem, which we are considering
as they are offering to pay for it. The post-mortem may help explain
why he failed, and also, from the testing, determine what they could
be doing different to help another cat later on if the same thing
happens. The vet thinks it may have something to do with the infected
cyst, it's size (it was one of the largest they've seen), and an
systematic immune response from the removal of it from his pancreas.

Thanks for all the thoughts and support.

"geekgrrl" wrote in message
...
Abbott did not pull through the surgery.

Oh my God, I am so sorry.

Response to geekgrrl :

Abbott did not pull through the surgery. snip

Damn. Terribly sorry, geekgrrl. You did the right thing. Sometimes
life happens whether we want it to or not.

The hospital asked about doing a post-mortem, which we are
considering as they are offering to pay for it. The post-mortem
may help explain why he failed, and also, from the testing,
determine what they could be doing different to help another cat
later on if the same thing happens. The vet thinks it may have
something to do with the infected cyst, it's size (it was one of
the largest they've seen), and an systematic immune response from
the removal of it from his pancreas.

And although I'm sure it is difficult (I've never had to make the
choice), I really think this is the right thing to do.

Ultimately it's your choice, and I'm sure "we" got your back either
way. ; )

--
-Lost
Remove the extra words to reply by e-mail. Don't e-mail me. I am
kidding. No I am not.

I am so sorry to hear this. Still, you did the right thing by having the
surgery. You just can't predict what might happen. I am truly sorry about
Abbott. You have my heartfelt condolences. I will light a candle for him
tonight.

S.
"geekgrrl" wrote in message
...
Abbott did not pull through the surgery. This was completely
unexpected by the vet as his bloodwork was good, he looked healthy,
alert and eating well.
The surgery itself went well, but his blood pressure dropped during
the surgery, and they were never able to get it back up. He eventually
went into cardiac arrest. They had asked about rescusitation(sp?), and
as they said his heart was strong, I said try, but not too long -
basically give him a chance to come back, but at some point you have
to let go. He was a fighter, and came back three times, but eventually
it was too much.

The hospital asked about doing a post-mortem, which we are considering
as they are offering to pay for it. The post-mortem may help explain
why he failed, and also, from the testing, determine what they could
be doing different to help another cat later on if the same thing
happens. The vet thinks it may have something to do with the infected
cyst, it's size (it was one of the largest they've seen), and an
systematic immune response from the removal of it from his pancreas.

Thanks for all the thoughts and support.

"geekgrrl" wrote in message
...
Abbott did not pull through the surgery. This was completely
unexpected by the vet as his bloodwork was good, he looked healthy,
alert and eating well.

I am so sorry. I just read your latest message, and it is tragic news. All
of us were hoping for *good* results for Abbott, but your decision to go
forward with surgery was the right one. You did the very best you could,
and I hope that knowledge gives you some consolation.

MaryL

"geekgrrl" wrote in message
...
Abbott did not pull through the surgery. This was completely
unexpected by the vet as his bloodwork was good, he looked healthy,
alert and eating well.
The surgery itself went well, but his blood pressure dropped during
the surgery, and they were never able to get it back up. He eventually
went into cardiac arrest. They had asked about rescusitation(sp?), and
as they said his heart was strong, I said try, but not too long -
basically give him a chance to come back, but at some point you have
to let go. He was a fighter, and came back three times, but eventually
it was too much.

The hospital asked about doing a post-mortem, which we are considering
as they are offering to pay for it. The post-mortem may help explain
why he failed, and also, from the testing, determine what they could
be doing different to help another cat later on if the same thing
happens. The vet thinks it may have something to do with the infected
cyst, it's size (it was one of the largest they've seen), and an
systematic immune response from the removal of it from his pancreas.

Thanks for all the thoughts and support.


I'm very sorry. You did the right thing.

Phil

On Jun 12, 10:41*am, geekgrrl wrote:
Abbott did not pull through the surgery. This was completely
unexpected by the vet as his bloodwork was good, he looked healthy,
alert and eating well.

OMG, I'm sorry! I never expected to read this news. As difficult as it
may be, I think it may be helpful to have the autopsy. There most
likely wasn't anything you (or the vet) could have done, but perhaps
his autopsy will give you a little peace of mind, and maybe help the
next person who might have to deal with this.

My condolences.

Rene

Thanks for all the thoughts.

We have decided on having the post-mortem. Husband was having a hard
time deciding, this is the first pet he's lost since he was a child so
it's particularily hard for him.

As my sis said, what's left is not the Abbott we knew, and it's the
best way to hopefully find out what happened. She as well has
recently lost her 17-yr old DSH boy Rascal of old age, so we're each
other's support group right now.
I like the idea of hopefuly sparing someone else this, maybe even one
of my other babies.

We've also opted for private cremation and bringing him home that way.

Thanks again for all the feedback, this has always been a great group.

geekgrrl wrote in news:9b2375b8-dd15-4bf8-9915-
:

Thanks for all the thoughts.

We have decided on having the post-mortem. Husband was having a hard
time deciding, this is the first pet he's lost since he was a child so
it's particularily hard for him.

As my sis said, what's left is not the Abbott we knew, and it's the
best way to hopefully find out what happened. She as well has
recently lost her 17-yr old DSH boy Rascal of old age, so we're each
other's support group right now.
I like the idea of hopefuly sparing someone else this, maybe even one
of my other babies.

We've also opted for private cremation and bringing him home that way.

Thanks again for all the feedback, this has always been a great group.





Good for you. I am glad you decided to allow some possible good to come of
Abbott's loss because I understand how hard a choice it was.

Andy