Liver Shunts?

[Yorkieluv]

Wow, that's an excellent price!!

[bgrubbs]

I had an 12 week old puppy who at liver shunt surgery at Texas A&M the surgery with the scan was 2400.00 dollars and Dr Vaniyak was the sergeon. She also was taught by Dr Karen Tobias and was just absolutely wonderful. I can't speak more highly of her. If I ever had another I would take the puppy to A&M anyday.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions I will be happy to help you.

Betty

[Yorkieluv]

Thanks for sharing Bgrubbs

[kna4977]

Blood tests this time came back normal. Scan showed no shunt. Vet here wants to put her on phenobarbital anyway. I'm kinda hesitant there and think we should just change her diet first and see how that goes as well as possibly giving her some nutri-cal before taking her on physically demanding activities such as walks/runs.

[Yorkieluv]

What kind of scan did they do? Ultrasound or scintigraphy? Ultrasounds are typically inconclusive when it comes to shunts...Also, they don't show if your dog has MVD...
Phenobarb should be an absolute last resort b/c it is very, very hard on the liver. If liver problems are suspected, nutritional management and supplements should be the first thing you try to get the seizures to stop...This includes giving 4-6 small meals per day to lighten the load on the liver, giving vegetarian food, milk thistle, denosyl, lactulose (3x/day so that your baby has 2 soft stools per day), etc.
IF that does not help and they still think it's liver related, then usually Potassium Bromide is used in liver compromised dogs rather than phenobarb.

[pea496]

Conner had high numbers about a year ago. The vet put him on a special diet (Science Diet L/D), and liver pills (which he had to take for a few months). He tested again, and Conner was still a little high. He told me to go back to his regular diet (we switched to Wellness Weight Management since it has lower protein) while still taking the pills. On Conner's last vet visit, his liver numbers were normal. I was thrilled.

[kna4977]

Originally Posted by Yorkieluv

What kind of scan did they do? Ultrasound or scintigraphy? Ultrasounds are typically inconclusive when it comes to shunts...Also, they don't show if your dog has MVD...
Phenobarb should be an absolute last resort b/c it is very, very hard on the liver. If liver problems are suspected, nutritional management and supplements should be the first thing you try to get the seizures to stop...This includes giving 4-6 small meals per day to lighten the load on the liver, giving vegetarian food, milk thistle, denosyl, lactulose (3x/day so that your baby has 2 soft stools per day), etc.
IF that does not help and they still think it's liver related, then usually Potassium Bromide is used in liver compromised dogs rather than phenobarb.

Scintography. Thanks for the info, will run it by the vet. I'm a pharmacist and should know all this stuff, but all we dealt with in school and mostly in practice is people. I do know that it is last line in people now because there are so many better options with a lower side effect profile and fewer drug interactions. In fact about the only prescriptions I see for Pb anymore are in canines. Got a feeling I'm getting the course work that was missing from the curriculum in school now