To Mrs. Duck:
>BUT (Vet's please help) the results of the surgery were disturbing.  She
>had the surgery due to an enlarged vulva which has been swollen for a
>couple of months now...  The post surgical report is that her adrenals
>look great, and there is no reproductive tis sues or organs present.  OK,
>so what do we do now?  ...  and some apparent "nesting", she has no other
>symptoms.  What could this be?
 
    Well, even though the adrenals look good, that doesn't mean that there
isn't a lesion.  Visual inspection of adrenals during surgery is far from
foolproof.  Something is definitively awry here..
 
    Next step: have your vet contact the Dept. of Endocrinology at the
Univ. of Tennesse CVM, and ask about the adrenal panel.  This panel will
test for seven different compounds which may be secreted by ovarian tissue
or adrenal lesions.  The test is very good at pinpointing the problem as to
adrenal vs. ovarian.
 
    Personally, retained ovarian tissues is extremely rare - 99% of these
cases in this country are the result of adrenal disease.
 
    Unfortunately, this saga is far from over....
 
Bruce Williams, DVM, DACVP
[Posted in FML issue 1391]