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Originally Posted by Ellie May  I think it completely depends on the dog. There is a time and a place for u/s, biopsy, and maybe even Protein C testing. That doesn't mean that they are the best tests available, but they may give the information that is needed. In a dog with HE symptoms and high bile aids, I would go to scintography. However, I'd also have concerns about bladder stones, so I'd probably go with a u/s too if the $$$ was available and we would get added info about the liver. That's not a bad thing. In general, yes I agree, not great at diagnosing shunts, but they have their place. The same goes for biopsy. The assumption is made that if a Yorkie has high bile acids and no shunt, it's probably MVD. But that doesn't mean it couldn't be something else and the treatment could be different. So there is a place for biopsy also. I would not do it in every case that MVD is suspected, but I also can't say it is never worth it. |
yeah the key is the money and if money was no object but many people do not have this kind of money and unlimited supply so doing the best and most cost effective is key. If bladder stones I would think it would show up on urinalysis or dog would be having symptoms. I think this is why our vet did bats and urinalysis to see what liver function was so ultrasound was never mentioned in regards to dd liver he went straight for scintigraphy but after doing my homework I decided against it as her numbers were below 100 and she had NO symptoms of liver disease.
The liver biopsy would be the very last resort if everything mvd was ruled out by doing low protein diet, denamarin, juicing zucchini and celery, etc then if nothing worked to get the numbers down and my dog was still very sick and the liver numbers were way off and it was obvious it was not related to mvd then yes further testing could be done but i see way too many people going straight to biopsy on mvd cases and that is just not right as that is very stressful on the dog for no reason and the incision is HUGE.
I think people need to educate themselves as a vet would tend to run every test if they could as that is how they make a living but not everyone has that kind of financial security to do so in these times. I was very upset about the fact that they kept charging me $400 for ultrasounds and found out a cpli is the most indicative test. $1200 later the ultrasound told me Yep the pancreas is inflamed - wth seriously that was ridiculous and a total waste of my money. I think many people go through this as they have no clue like i did and just trust the tests being run are the best for what is going on and then they walk away with thousands in vet bills on stuff that really was not that necessary sadly like happened to me
Then when the dog really needs a test they do not have the money