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Originally Posted by ladyjane  Lab studies and x-rays do not lie. I really don't understand this at all. What is your issue with getting the opinion of a specialist? You don't even know what will be suggested....or is it because deep down you know?
I don't mean to sound harsh, but honestly this is just mind boggling to me. If it were one of mine, I would be high tailing it to a specialist. I would be so afraid of what might happen if I waited too long.  |
No, you're not sounding harsh - that's your right to say - I wouldn't be on here if I couldn't handle some criticism. I just don't feel like it is a matter of life or death. Here's what I'm thinking. If it's HMD or MVD then it's managed thru dietary and meds anyway, as we're doing - if it's an extrahepatic shunt, then it can be fixed surgically. My vet still feels that it is intrahepatic based on the biopsy (even though I know, it can't be shown for sure based on a biopsy whether it is intra or extra and intrahepatic are usually in large dogs). The hemolysis was also shown to be high on the BAT results which from what I've read on could adversely affect the test results; which has something to do with the guage size of the needle to draw the blood.
If my puppy was in anyway feeling bad, I would be hightailing it to a specialist to get something done. I know that surgery may be something that has to be done and am prepared to do that. But even if an outside shunt was fixed, my vet feels like we are still going to deal with the interior shunting. He also feels that since she was diagnosed at a later age, it is a better sign. As he said, these are numbers and it is good to have these numbers to show liver function, but she has improved dramatically from where she was a year ago - based on meds and diet.