Pituitary Tumor Surgery

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These links were posted on catacromegaly.com and I wanted to get them over here as well. This kitty had pituitary surgery to remove the acro-tumor. I had heard in the past that pituitary surgery was not very feasible in cats, but I guess that's changing.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20417901
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18684148
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20887134

Hi-

My 13yr old male kitty (Loki) was diagnosed with diabetes about 6 months ago. Then about 3 months later he was diagnosed with acromegaly (confirmed with MRI and IGF test).

I have done tons of research (reading various veterinarian journal articles) on treatment options and found one veterinarian in Los Angeles who takes part in caring for cats/dogs who have a surgical procedure called transsphenoidal surgery (type of surgery where an endoscope is inserted through the soft-palate to remove the pitiuitary tumor). This surgery was first done in The Netherlands and Switzerland. The doctor in L.A. has had the pituitary team at Cedars-Sinai come and teach his staff how to do this surgery in dogs/cats. It is very new (he's done 20 dogs and one other cat) but promising. Loki has a chance to become normal and to longer be dependant on insulin.

Of course there are some risks and it's expensive, but also his best chance to live a normal life again!

Everyone wish us good thoughts. We are leaving for L.A. (from Seattle) on Oct 11th. His surgery is scheduled for October 13th! I will keep you posted

Yes, his surgery was considered sucessful! He had a complete health care tem (including a human pituitary surgeon from Cedar Sinai). Cedar Sinai is very interested in studing these types of tumors to further human treatment. So Loki's actual tumor tissue is going through lots of different tests.

His glucose levels have dropped from levels in the 500's to levels in the high 100's and he went from 16 units of glargine 2x daily to one unit 1x a day. You can do a search for past studies (feline pituitary tumor surgery) on pubmed.gov. This particular surgery (in cats with acromegaly) has only ever been done in The Netherlands and Switzerland. So, he will have his own published journal article!

It is a slow recovery and he was at the clinic for 3 weeks but he'll be coming home this Friday! The incision through his soft palate healed very nicely. It did take him some time to eat and walk but all of his neurologic tests are normal. It was a big decision and one of the hardest things we ever had to do (I questioned if it was best for him many times), but the surgery seems very promising! So far they have done the surgery in about 20 dogs with cushings.

Let me know if you have further questions!

 

[Nina and KB]

I just saw those posts over the weekend. I hope she sees good results.

 

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Considering they went from 16 u to 1 u in 3 weeks, it sounds like he's doing great. Of course, poor guy had to recuperate for 3 weeks and I winder if the price is comparable or more than the SRT?

 

[thursday]

This is interesting, although I'm not sure that I can afford either the surgery or the radiation therapy. We have a neurologist who has been practicing the surgery on dogs, but my vet is not sure if he's ready to think about trying it on a cat. In fact, I'm sure my vet would be interested to hear news of the success of this method.

Oh, and good luck to the kitty! Very exciting news, nonetheless.

 

[Black Bear & AcroMeg]

Any more news on kitty post-surgery?

I am a human acromegalic. I first noted symptoms in 2003, was finally diagnosed in 2008 and had the same (transsphenoidal) surgery that Fall. My pituitary tumor grew back, and in November 2009 I had SRS. In the year since then, my IGF-1 numbers plateau'd, went down, and then started going back up, but I've learned that this radiation treatment doesn't necessarily show results for a long time (years) in us humans.

I'm very curious to hear about my feline counterpart!

 

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Hi Megan,

This poster is over on catacromegaly.com (she's never come over here). It would be great if you went over there and posted or sent her a PM. How have you been feeling since the SRS? We'd love an update on you sometime.

Heather

 

[NoahsMom]

Hi,

Hope Loki continues to do well. My kitty Noah was diagnosed with pituitary tumor back in June of 2008. He had radiation treatments, which were successful in shrinking the tumor, but three years later, the tumor seems to be growing back. He happens to be a patient at VCA in LA and my doctor told me about the surgery Loki had, so I was very excited to read your posting about Loki and learn that the surgery was a success! Noah is scheduled to have another MRI in March to check on the tumor again, and then I will need to make decisions. As you wrote, this surgery is amazing but there are risks and my cat is 16 years old and already went through radiation treatments.

Good luck to you and Loki! Hope he's enjoying being healthy again.

 

[Patti and Merlin]

Update on Loki - I'm afraid it's sad news....I've received an email from Johanna...


This is very sad, but my baby boy has since passed on to Rainbow Bridge-2/06/11. He made it 4 months post-surgery but we really don't know what caused him to take a turn for the worse. It was probably un-related to the surgery but I chose not to do any other tests or procedures since he had already been through so much. His belly filled with fluid, he stopped eating and was very lethargic. We did blood work (possibly early kidney disease) and decided on anti acids for his stomach and an appetite stimulant for about 3 days but no change. He got worse. It may have been heart failure or liver disease. That is when I decided to end his suffering. He went peacefully and with dignity in my arms.

He was truly one in a million...the BEST kitty ever!!


Sending you the very warmest of thoughts and hugs Johanna -

Johanna - has only posted on catacro in the past .....

 

[Blue]

Update on Loki - I'm afraid it's sad news....I've received an email from Johanna...


This is very sad, but my baby boy has since passed on to Rainbow Bridge-2/06/11. He made it 4 months post-surgery but we really don't know what caused him to take a turn for the worse. It was probably un-related to the surgery but I chose not to do any other tests or procedures since he had already been through so much. His belly filled with fluid, he stopped eating and was very lethargic. We did blood work (possibly early kidney disease) and decided on anti acids for his stomach and an appetite stimulant for about 3 days but no change. He got worse. It may have been heart failure or liver disease. That is when I decided to end his suffering. He went peacefully and with dignity in my arms.

He was truly one in a million...the BEST kitty ever!!


Sending you the very warmest of thoughts and hugs Johanna -

Johanna - has only posted on catacro in the past .....

Patti,
Such sad news! Please extend my condolences to Johanna - Fly free Loki