Quote:
Originally Posted by Ellie May  Normal is about 7 premeal and 15 post. Some vets say anything above 40 is concerning. |
According to Dr. Center, anything over 25 is abnormal. Over 100 is indicative of a shunt.
Scintigraphy is considered more effective than ultrasound in diagnosing shunts. It runs around $400.
Dr. Center recommends getting a bile acids test done on all puppies before they go to their new homes with sixteen weeks being ideal. I belong to a Maltese forum where more and more educated puppy buyers are insisting that this be done beforehand or they have it done right after they get their puppy home. Since Dr. Center no longer recommends a 12 hour fast, it's perfectly safe for puppies now.
Do any of you get this done before buying your puppy? Yorkies are 36 times more likely to have a liver shunt than all the other breeds combined according to the study done by Dr. Tobias at UT.
http://www.vet.utk.edu/clinical/sacs/shunt/faq.shtml