Abstract
Dear Editors,
The study by Freiche, Faucher and German 1 came to the conclusion that a laparotomy with multiple biopsies is the preferred way to diagnose abnormalities of the gastrointestinal tract and associated organs. The authors pointed out that non-invasive options do not have the same sensitivity and specificity as this approach. This is the same conclusion that we reached in our study of 300 cats that received non-invasive testing and laparotomies. 2
Performing a laparotomy on a cat that is over 12 years of age, has lost weight and has a 50% chance of having neoplasia does not seem like a wise move. However, we have carried out 487 laparotomies for cats with suspected small bowel disease during the past 7 years. We are not a university or major referral center; we are a three-doctor, primary care, feline-only practice. Our approach is to biopsy the duodenum, jejunum, ileum, liver and pancreas. Only two cats (0.4%) did not survive the surgery or the immediate postoperative period.
Some object to this approach because it is considered too expensive. However, as a sage told me years ago, the cheapest test is the one that gets the diagnosis the first time.
I salute the authors for their approach and for reporting the results.