Liver shunt surgery Emma

[DAB]

Emma is home!! We picked her up this evening at Tufts. Poor baby-----her scar is long. I hope it heals as fast as Lola's did. She did cry a bit on the way home. I was told that I could give her her pain med at around midnight tonight. I will need to do just that as she is on my lap as I type and she shivers every now and then. I think she is hurting.

She has an eye ulcer (which is painful) in her left eye and it is also inflamed----a reaction to the anesthesia I was told. Hmmm... I wish they had not only lubricated the eyes but also taped them shut. I was told by a "people" surgical nurse that if the eyes are taped they won't open during a long surgery. The opened eye gets dried out and the end result could be an eye problem. Could this procedure work as well for our pets? Emma will receive 3 different meds for her eye. She will return to Tufts in 2 weeks to not only have her stitches removed but also to have an appointment with the optomologist to check her eye. The last eye ulcer took a good month to heal.

In the mean time because of the surgery, she will need to be kept "less active" which means I willl have to watch her as she loves to chase the cat around and play with her 5 year old Yorkie "sister."

Thanks for all the information you gave me about your little Lola. It is so nice to be able to share experiences with other Yorkie owners. As far as her diet goes, she will need to remain on the Iams low residue food. The chief nutristionist via the surgeon said that Emma could/should remain on this food for life. It was also reccommended for my other Yorkie girl. When I meet with the nutritionist, I will pass along the post op diet from Dr.Tobias at the University of Tenn. to she what she thinks about it. I think it sounds wonderful. Emma will also need to continue receiving the Metrnidozole for 1 month. After that, we pray that she does not have any problems associated with the shunt or we will be back asap to the hospital.

Again I can't thank everyone enough for their prayers. Let's hope that the shunt will gradually close and that all will be healed w/o any complications. A big thank you to Tufts and the surgical team as well as to the caring staff.

Again, I will keep everyone on this forum updated on Emma's progress.

[Lolasmom1211]

Poor little, precious baby. I hate to hear that about her eye...it's not enough that they have that awful incision, but to have to deal with an ulcer in her eye, too. Bless her heart.

It was a little difficult to keep Lola down after the first 2-3 days...she decided that she wanted to chase both her brother and the birds in the back yard! They warned me not to let her run, go up or down stairs, or play rough because something around the ring might kink! I had to really keep her calm for the first 2-3 weeks after surgery. Lola had dissolvable stitches so that was one nice thing.

Emma is so lucky to have you! Give her lots of hugs and kisses from all of us!

~~~Valerie

[dwerten]

Originally Posted by DAB

I am leaving this afternoon to visit her. Tufts is about an hour from my home. She had a good night according to the surgeon who phoned us this morning to answer some questions I had. He says that she is perky and looks great but he wants to keep her another night. I can't believe that she will be ready to return home tomorrow night. She has "stolen" everyone's heart at the hospital.

However, I need to meet with the surgeon to talk about Emma's diet. She will remain on the IAMs Low Residue and the Metronidazole for a while while she recovers. After that he wants a "higher" protein diet ( higher than the IAMS) for her. HMMMM. I just read today that Yorkies and liver shunted dogs shouldn't have High protein in their diet only high QUALITY protein----reccomended was 18%. The IAMS she is on now has 22%. I used to feed EVO, a premium kibble, -----it did not agree with her at times and is very high in protein.

Any advice? Has anyone heard of Waltham Veterinary Diets----Low and Medium Protein. It comes dry or canned. It has an 18% protein value. it must be ordered through a vet.

Also, I just read that liver shunts may be aquired if a diet too high in protein is fed----is this true? After all these months of researching liver shunts this is the first time I have come upon this information. I would apprecite your thoughts. I definitely will ask the surgeon about this.

Thanks to everyone for your continued prayers and support. I hope all your Yorkie babies stay well.

DAB

join the liver shunt groups on yahoogroups.com they are a wealth of info. Once the dog has had the liver shunt surgery and liver is biopsied and your dog does not have mvd along with shunt the dog should be able to go back to the normal protein diet. It is 18% protein for a dog that has liver symptoms, 22% for a dog with no symptoms so i would think 22% would be ok after the surgery and recovery is ok -it is more a highly digestible protein like fish that is best and why dr dodds liver cleansing diet is what most feed -- we see dr dodds for our dogs as we live close to her. My dd is mvd

[dwerten]

Originally Posted by DAB

I visited Emma this evening and was surprised at how long the incision was. poor baby----she cried all the while I was there. The liver was biopsied and the results have yet to be had. She is still on an IV for fluids.

She had to be seen by an optomologist because, unfortunately, she now has an eye ulcer again. In addition she has uveitis which is an eye inflammation. We were hoping that another eye ulcer would not have happened (as you may recall she developed one after her ultrasound). The surgeon was reminded to pay extra attention to her eyes and to lubricate them which he said he would and I assume he did. The doctor who was there this evening stated that she may have an underlying eye problem. Could it be related to the shunt? The last eye ulcer took a month to clear so I will be armed with 3 different meds for her eye when I get her home as we start another month of eye care. This poor puupy!

Tufts is doing some research on diet and I was told this evening that too high a protein is not good at all. I think that earlier the surgeon either misspoke about the higher protein level or that I misunderstood him. I am currently feeding my 5 year old yorkie girl Solid Gold MMillenia which has a protein count of 22%. Previously she was eating EVO which has a very high protein count. After she heals in a couple of months or so, Emma will need to be switched to a regular diet. I will be finding out from Tufts about what food she should be on and whether or not I should switch my other girl to the same food. I do not know whether or not the MMIllenia will be OK. It may be that I will have to sit with a Tufts nutritionist to figure it all out.

If all goes well, Emma may be discharged tomorrow evening. I will keep everyone posted. Thanks for the information about the Hills food and the baby food too! I will definitely be speaking to Tufts about that as well.

DAB

here is some info from my other group
I just have to say my Quincy was on the Evo small bites which is listed as a 6-star rating and he had blood work for pre-dental and it that showed a lot of things 'off'. His protein, and many others were high... and triclycerides were extremely high. Vet wanted to know what I was feeding and I went over the analysis of ingredients. I personally had never noticed the high fat content of the EVO @ 20-something % ( Just looked at site and said 22%)
That's very high for a little breed that isn't an active 'working dog' like a border collie where they might burn it off.

there was another dog on there that had fatty deposits in eye from eating this food and once there they do not go away

[dwerten]

Originally Posted by dwerten

here is some info from my other group
I just have to say my Quincy was on the Evo small bites which is listed as a 6-star rating and he had blood work for pre-dental and it that showed a lot of things 'off'. His protein, and many others were high... and triclycerides were extremely high. Vet wanted to know what I was feeding and I went over the analysis of ingredients. I personally had never noticed the high fat content of the EVO @ 20-something % ( Just looked at site and said 22%)
That's very high for a little breed that isn't an active 'working dog' like a border collie where they might burn it off.

there was another dog on there that had fatty deposits in eye from eating this food and once there they do not go away

also evo high in fat and yorkies need low fat diet as prone to pancreatitis

[dwerten]

does she have dry eye as that runs in this breed and ulcers can develop from dry eye - has she had a tear stain test before? She may need to go on eye drops for this to help with it as my friends yorkie is on cyclosporine eye drops for dry eye as dry eye is like having sand in your eyes - very painful and itchy


Corneal Ulcers In Dogs And Cats

[DAB]

Thanks. I will join today. I just emailed the surgeon b/c my Emma had blood streaks in her stools this morning....bright red. Has this been an issue after LS surgery with anyone? She ate after she came home from the hospital last night and her stools seemed normal.

This morning, however, she pooped when she awoke at 4:00am and had some blood in her stool. A half hour later, after breakfast, she pooped again. Long slivers of stool with bright red streaks and some tiny bloody drips. I am waiting for a reply from the surgeon.

[Lolasmom1211]

I don't remember any blood in Lola's stools. I'm glad you have called the Dr. I called UT several times after I brought Lola home for different questions. I'm sure Emma is going to be fine...Please keep us posted - Sending prayers your way ~~~ Valerie

[dwerten]

Originally Posted by DAB

Thanks. I will join today. I just emailed the surgeon b/c my Emma had blood streaks in her stools this morning....bright red. Has this been an issue after LS surgery with anyone? She ate after she came home from the hospital last night and her stools seemed normal.

This morning, however, she pooped when she awoke at 4:00am and had some blood in her stool. A half hour later, after breakfast, she pooped again. Long slivers of stool with bright red streaks and some tiny bloody drips. I am waiting for a reply from the surgeon.

Was it yellow jelly poop with blood in it if so that is colitis and due to stress so probably stressed from being in hospital -- lower intestines are inflamed if bright red blood if dark red stool then small intestines

[DAB]

Oh my! I knew this was an excellent premium food but never knew it was too high in protein for Yorkies. I never associated high protein used in the EVO or any other food was I wish pet nutritionist/vet would publish easy to read/understand food lists so that the lay person could make intelligent choices. Since the food scare there seems to be a lot of confusion with nowhere to turn for DEFINITIVE answers. Pet owners thinking they are doing the best for their pet by buying premium food find out after the fact that the food they are feeding may not be right for their pet.

It would be nice to see lists of foods with the protein count, etc. listed and then noted whether or not the food would be right or wrong for a particular breed. Any vets/nutritionists ready to tackle this one. As I noted in an earlier post, My other precious yorkie was eating EVO---no problems on it------is now eating Solid Gold MMillenia. Even though it is made for sporting breeeds, it has less protein then their food made for small breeds. A company representative emaiiled me ,when I inquired about feeding MMellinia to my 5 year old yorkie, that the food would be just fine---that there really was not much difference betwen the 2 foods. Of course now Tufts said that the Iams Low Rsidue is good and both my Emma and my Zofia can eat that food from now on----a 22% protein level is noted on the bag.

I will definitely be setting up an apointment with one of the nutritionists at Tufts sometime within the next few weeks. I will have a list of questions to ask her.

[ARCHIE]

Your poor little girl. I am so happy she's home with you now.
Mommy can make all her boo boo's go away.
I hope she heals nicely and her eye does as well with no
other problems. Your both going threw so much at this time.
Wishing her a speedy and complete recovery.


Hugs,

[DAB]

My vet just phoned ( on his day off! ) to ask about Emma. We know she is not out of the woods as we need to see how she does daily and after she stops the Metonidazole in a month. I told him I emailed the surgeon and am waiting for a reply. My vet also thinks that the bright blood may be due to stress and/or even having her temp taken often and having a "probe" as it were stuck up her behind multiple times. This poor tiny baby has been through so much.

He also comented on the eye taping in addition to the lubrication----a no go because the doctors rely on looking at a dog's eyes during surgery ---- the eyes are a monitoring window into the correct amount of anesthesia being administered. Who knew?

Please keep all our sick/recovering baby Yorkies in your prayers.

[DAB]

Thank you so much!

[Lolasmom1211]

Originally Posted by DAB

Oh my! I knew this was an excellent premium food but never knew it was too high in protein for Yorkies. I never associated high protein used in the EVO or any other food was I wish pet nutritionist/vet would publish easy to read/understand food lists so that the lay person could make intelligent choices. Since the food scare there seems to be a lot of confusion with nowhere to turn for DEFINITIVE answers. Pet owners thinking they are doing the best for their pet by buying premium food find out after the fact that the food they are feeding may not be right for their pet.

It would be nice to see lists of foods with the protein count, etc. listed and then noted whether or not the food would be right or wrong for a particular breed. Any vets/nutritionists ready to tackle this one. As I noted in an earlier post, My other precious yorkie was eating EVO---no problems on it------is now eating Solid Gold MMillenia. Even though it is made for sporting breeeds, it has less protein then their food made for small breeds. A company representative emaiiled me ,when I inquired about feeding MMellinia to my 5 year old yorkie, that the food would be just fine---that there really was not much difference betwen the 2 foods. Of course now Tufts said that the Iams Low Rsidue is good and both my Emma and my Zofia can eat that food from now on----a 22% protein level is noted on the bag.

I will definitely be setting up an apointment with one of the nutritionists at Tufts sometime within the next few weeks. I will have a list of questions to ask her.

This food stuff is so frustrating!!!!My little male has never had any health problems except that he had bouts of tummy problems with different food. I finally started home cooking for him and he has not had a problem since. Of course I have to make sure that Lola does not get into his bowl, but I just hold her while he eats. I simply make him boiled chicken, organic brown rice and green beans - I put his cosequin in with it at night and give him a chewable multi vitamin. So far, so good...he has not had a single problem in months and is as healty as an ox! He does pick at Lola's kibble throughout the day, but I think that's good for his teeth. I would love it if they could eat the same thing***fingers crossed that one day they will!

[TLC]

Originally Posted by Lolasmom1211

This food stuff is so frustrating!!!!My little male has never had any health problems except that he had bouts of tummy problems with different food. I finally started home cooking for him and he has not had a problem since. Of course I have to make sure that Lola does not get into his bowl, but I just hold her while he eats. I simply make him boiled chicken, organic brown rice and green beans - I put his cosequin in with it at night and give him a chewable multi vitamin. So far, so good...he has not had a single problem in months and is as healty as an ox! He does pick at Lola's kibble throughout the day, but I think that's good for his teeth. I would love it if they could eat the same thing***fingers crossed that one day they will!

If you homecook, you also need to be adding raw oil and calcium