Possible liver shunt in eastern WA
 

My 10 1/2 mo. old yorkie had a bile test and it was recommended by my vet that I take him to Veterinary Surgical Specialist in Spokane or WSU.

I would like to know if anyone has had liver shunt surgery on their dog at either of these facilities and how it went.

Frantic in Pasco, WA

Not me, but I didn't want you to feel alone! I hope it all goes well for your baby.... sorry it's happening to you...

hugs...
deb

I'm on the opposite side of the country, so I don't have any specific knowledge of the faclilities you mention, but I'd suggest you either go to another vet or take her to the clinic. A porto-systemic shunt cannot be diagnosed with only a BAT. There are typically blood panels done and some sort of sonography (such as an ultrasound).

Just as a warning...the testing itself is very expensive, and the surgery is more so. With surgery, 85% to 95% of dogs can lead a normal life. That depends on the surgery. It's critical that the dog is on a very low protein diet in the interim, because they can't process proteins and it will cause ammonia buildup in their bloodstream. This is a very, very serious condition and you need to get her on a special diet and maintenance meds in the meantime. It can be fatal in a fairly short time, and most dogs that have it and don't have the surgery have to be euthanized within a year.

I'm sorry if I'm sounding like an authority on this, but I kind of am. I have a dog that has one. I've talked to vets and vets and vets, and also spent about 200 hours researching the condition. It isn't something to take lightly.

:thumbup::thumbup:

I agree. I'd proceed cautiously with further tests and treatment -- EXCEPT, get her on a low protein diet immediately.

And further...
 

I don't mean to drone on about this, but it's a very serious condition. Ask your vet for some K/D or L/D in the meantime. You can get that only from a vet. At her age, she'd probably be okay with L/D unless she's very underweight. Otherwise, you can feed her K/D and give her Lactalose to help get rid of the protein in the blood.

She is completely right about the seriouseness about the condition, except I have to disagree about the k/d...It contains pork liver which is not only animal protein(not recommended for these dogs), but an organ meat which is highly encephalogenic...It produces a high amount of ammonia that these dogs cannot filter properly in their livers like other dogs.
Ask for canned L/D, none of the dry Hill's foods b/c they contain ethoxyquin which is a carcinogen. OR you could ask for a prescription of Royal Canin Hepatic LS 14 which is a dry food by Royal Canin that does NOT contain ethoxyquin and is quite palatable for most dogs.

Liver shunt cannot be diagnosed by a BAT alone. What were the results of the test? Have they done any other bloodtests to check ALT, ALB, etc?

I agree that the L/D is preferable
 

I talked with three different vets about it and they all wanted Jasmine on k/d for the first month, but she's on l/d now. Of course she's also still on maintenance meds because the condition can't be controlled with diet alone.

I'm still checking with surgeons to find one I feel comfortable with. It seems that, for things like this, you may as well be a human trying to find a brain surgeon for all the time it takes. I'm really getting pretty annoyed with it. You call, and they say they can't get you in for two to four weeks for a consult. Then you tell them you have extensive documentation and test results, and can they just review that. No. They want to see her. Okay, I'll send you a picture.

All this hurry up and wait stuff is driving me bananas. I've offered to have all records faxed and pay them for the consult, but they want to see her in person. Then they see her and say she looks healthy and she has a PSS. Grrrr. I already knew that!

I agree...It's so hard to find a good vet, specialist, surgeon, etc. for these babies, as even the very educated ones do not know enough about liver problems to help our more severe liver compromised babies...
How old is she? What kind of symptoms did she have?
My yorkie is now 4 and his condition is inoperable, but it is managed through proper diet, lactulose, and supplements.
If your baby has an extrahepatic shunt that needs to be repaired, I pray that you find a wonderful surgeon.

Jasmine's is extrahepatic
 

She's almost six months old now, and she's had every symptom imaginable. When it first started, she was almost comatose by the time we got her to the ER at two in the morning. Fortunately, they got her on IVs and meds quickly enough that she never had seizures. She acts like a totally normal dog now, but you can't be misled into thinking everything is going to be okay because of that. I know only about a third of dogs can be medically managed if they have a congenital shunt that's diagnosed as a puppy, and even those tend to have shortened life spans.

The breeder offered to take her back and refund our money. We had already gotten attached and decided to just deal with it, and she surprised us with a nice letter and a $500 check last week to help pay for the medications. That was a huge shock, but I sent a letter back to her telling her how grateful we were, and that the meds aren't that expensive, but that the money will really help toward the surgery. (The surgery is anywhere from $3,000 to $5,000 here.)

I love her so much. She looks like a little bear, though she still weighs only two pounds. I still have flashbacks about the night that she couldn't even stand and her eyes were so glazed over. The DH was freaking out and I was calm, but I'm one of those people who's calm during the crisis and freaks out after it's all over, which I did. I need to get him to take some pictures of her so I can post them.