DISCUSSION
Polycystic kidney disease (PKD) commonly occurs in Persian cats as
a result of an autosomal dominant mode of inheritance. As the name suggests,
mostly the cystic changes are confined to the kidneys, however rarely other
organs including the liver and uterus may be involved. In cases where hepatic
cysts are identified, they tend to be considered an incidental finding and
are not associated with clinical signs. Cats with PKD may also be asymptomatic
but renal failure may follow as the cysts increase in size. In this case
clinical signs were associated with the hepatic changes as opposed to renal
pathology. Differential diagnoses for the liver changes could have included
biliary cystadenocarcinoma, but this was excluded once results of histopathology
were available. |