[Ellie May]

Deep breaths. It's incredibly overwhelming, but you can do it.

Liver shunts are only seen on ultrasound 60-80% of the time if one is present and a lot of it depends on the experience of the sonographer. That is why some vets prefer to do them and some don't. Some vets think it's worth it (because they might find something and there are other things they can see in the abdomen that are related to liver disease by ultrasound). Some think it's not worth it because there are better tests available to find a shunt. Those tests would be scintography or portogram. It's at the specialist's discretion.

Board certified vets have gone the extra mile and they are almost always very good. When is doubt, always choose one. That said, if I know that a non board certified vet is very good, I have no problem going that direction. But when in doubt about their abilities in a certain area, choose the BC.

If the doctors at U of MN believe that the ultrasound should be skipped in this case, you may end up saving money. If these other vets find nothing on ultrasound, you'll have to go to the other tests anyway. However, before deciding what to do and getting really stressed over all of it, it's best to talk to a specialist about where to go. They will take you one step at a time.

My girl also has high bile acids (but not extremely high liver enzymes). We did the ultrasound with a board certified vet.