>My new question: Have many of you had your vet use a laser for a
>pancreatectomy?  (insulinoma surgery).  When Fang had his original surgery
>(non laser), his blood did not clot and he required a donor.  This same
>vet (who also does cryosurgery) just got a new laser.  Has anyone out
>there ever had a repeat pancreatectomy?
 
Dear Liz:
 
I'm not familiar with laser pancreatectomy - the action of the laser
would be to burn off the nodules at ultra-high temps - you could call it
vaporize.  It is certainly a though, but be ready with the donor again.
Remember, it is not just the pancreas that may bleed, but the incisions
in the skin, abdominal wall, etc.
 
Repeat pancreatectomies are not usually done, as you usually remove as much
pancreas as possible.  We usually only do Hwever, repeat nodulectomies are
common - I've had my own ferrets have two and three surgeries commonly.
 
Plus, with his history of post-surgical diabetes, I would not take out any
more pancreatic tissue (other than neoplasms) as absolutely necessary.
 
Bruce H. Williams, DVM, DACVP
[Posted in FML issue 3196]