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Parka · 01-21-2021, 07:45 AM

Hey everyone. Long time no post. Kirby is still going strong and has reached the ripe old age of 13. He is in good spirits but his mobility is not what it used to be.

On his last 3 or 4 x-rays, the radiologist has noted an enlarged liver. The xrays were taken for other reasons - both orthopedic and internal. Is this a cause for concern/further investigation? He is 13 years old and relatively content, so I don't want to subject him to stressful testing and procedures without understanding the benefit first. The next step would be an ultrasound, but what exactly would that tell us?

Other info:

His blood work is all within range and has consistently been within range for years, the only thing to note is his ALT hangs out at the high end. He has never had crystals in his urine but he has had a couple UTIs. He is epileptic and has a history of IBD. He's had two terrifying bouts with HGE and four less terrifying bouts with pancreatitis. He also has cervical IVDD which has caused a mild loss of mobility in his right thoracic limb, but he gets around just fine. I know this sounds like a million things but I assure you he's a pretty happy little dude and I love him to bits.

He has three very small kidney stones in the right kidney only, but I believe these are related to a particularly severe UTI and not an indicator of kidney dysfunction.

I have considered Cushings, but he doesn't have Cushings symptoms other than he likes to eat. He's not overweight, and he's not constantly hungry, but he sure lets me know when he thinks it's food time.

He eats i/d gastrointestinal low fat canned food (he's low on teeth at this point) and he has been on this type of food for over 10 years. No treats, no people food. He also takes keppra (epilepsy), gabapentin (IVDD), and methocarbamol (IVDD) plus Advita probiotic (IBD). Again, I know this sounds like a lot of things, but he's been on all of these medications for many years without complication.

On an unrelated note: as some of you may remember, he had a double enucleation in 2018. That was a very hard surgery with a very difficult recovery, and I had to yell at some people to get him pain medication. I really don't like yelling at people. I worried I had done the wrong thing choosing the surgery, even though I had dragged him to every specialist within 100 miles before deciding to do it. But it ended up being the right decision and he's better for it.

01-21-2021, 07:45 AM	#1
Parka Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Roswell, GA USA Posts: 61	Enlarged liver - should I be concerned? Hey everyone. Long time no post. Kirby is still going strong and has reached the ripe old age of 13. He is in good spirits but his mobility is not what it used to be. On his last 3 or 4 x-rays, the radiologist has noted an enlarged liver. The xrays were taken for other reasons - both orthopedic and internal. Is this a cause for concern/further investigation? He is 13 years old and relatively content, so I don't want to subject him to stressful testing and procedures without understanding the benefit first. The next step would be an ultrasound, but what exactly would that tell us? Other info: His blood work is all within range and has consistently been within range for years, the only thing to note is his ALT hangs out at the high end. He has never had crystals in his urine but he has had a couple UTIs. He is epileptic and has a history of IBD. He's had two terrifying bouts with HGE and four less terrifying bouts with pancreatitis. He also has cervical IVDD which has caused a mild loss of mobility in his right thoracic limb, but he gets around just fine. I know this sounds like a million things but I assure you he's a pretty happy little dude and I love him to bits. He has three very small kidney stones in the right kidney only, but I believe these are related to a particularly severe UTI and not an indicator of kidney dysfunction. I have considered Cushings, but he doesn't have Cushings symptoms other than he likes to eat. He's not overweight, and he's not constantly hungry, but he sure lets me know when he thinks it's food time. He eats i/d gastrointestinal low fat canned food (he's low on teeth at this point) and he has been on this type of food for over 10 years. No treats, no people food. He also takes keppra (epilepsy), gabapentin (IVDD), and methocarbamol (IVDD) plus Advita probiotic (IBD). Again, I know this sounds like a lot of things, but he's been on all of these medications for many years without complication. On an unrelated note: as some of you may remember, he had a double enucleation in 2018. That was a very hard surgery with a very difficult recovery, and I had to yell at some people to get him pain medication. I really don't like yelling at people. I worried I had done the wrong thing choosing the surgery, even though I had dragged him to every specialist within 100 miles before deciding to do it. But it ended up being the right decision and he's better for it.