Liver shunt surgery Emma
 

Hi Everyone!

Please keep Emma Angel in your prayers as she was admitted to Tufts University on Monday evening and she had liver shunt surgery today (June 9th). The surgeon said she came through surgery well. She is resting now in ICU as they monitor her for any side affects. Hopefully, I will be allowed to visit her tomorrow.

The surgeon did not use an ameroid ring which I thought he was going to use. Instead, he had to use the cellophane tape band b/c the ring was too bulky for our tiny girl.

Tufts phoned us right before he surgery to inform us that Emma was going to operated on at 11:00am. We have been in contact with the surgeon via email and he has replied almost immediately to any concerns we have had.
The surgeon also personally phoned right after surgery to let us know how the procedure went. Later this afternoon, Tufts phoned again to update me on how she was doing. The person with whom I spoke was in charge of Emma and was very patient ad took the time to listen to all my concerns. She was very kind and said that little Emma was the cutest Yorkie she had ever see and that everyone was taken by her.

Emma is not out of the woods yet. The next 48 hours are crucial. Her liver was biopsied and is a normal size. Her heart is fine. I expect to speak to the surgeon again and I know that I can always email him.

Thanks for all your support. Please keep little Emma in your daily prayers and send positive thoughts her way as she begins to recover.

DAB

Oh, most definitely! Hugs and prayers from all of us. :hug::nursing::hands:

Wow, sounds like she's in very good hands! Sending prayers for a quick recovery....

We'll definitely keep you both in our prayers!! How is she this morning?

I'm thinking about you and Emma this morning and sending prayers your way. This is certainly the best thing you could have done for her. The hard part is over....you will have your baby home with you soon. I am so glad that she made it through surgery ok. Please keep us updated. When I brought Lola home, the collar was far too heavy for her little neck. She could barely lift her little head, so I did put her in tiny onesies with a little hole cut out for her tail. They worked perfect and she never even noticed her stitches. Give Emma a belly rub and yorkie hugs from all of us! ~~~Valerie

I'll definitely keep Emma in my prayers. Looking forward to an update.

Prayers prayers and more prayers for all of you

Sending prayer's for Emma.
Hope today is a good one for your little girl and she
is on the road to recovery. It sounds like she is
certainly in good hands. Hope she is home with
you soon.

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

From the research I had done and from learning from ppl that have experience with Liver Shunts, these pups need to remain on a Low-But Quality protein diet, along with supplements.

Yes, liver shunt babies CAN and DO shoot additional shunts or acquire MVD.

Why they suggest high protein is beyond me. Why on earth after going thru all of this would be stress her compromised liver :(

P.S.
I have been wondering about you and Emma. So glad to hear she is going to be ok...

Just a tid bit...when my Roxy was in the hospital for a few days for her LP surgery, she must have had some soft poops, and NO ONE cleaned her butt. Poor baby, she was crying on the way home, and I was crying just thinking about her leg pain. But low and behold, she was crying bc she had diaper rash from the soft poop that was stuck to her butt....So *check* the Butt is all I am saying ;)

I have the diet that Dr Tobias at UT sent home with Lola. They told me switching Lola to an apporpriate diet is the most important aspect of her care. They kept her on Hills LD canned and Royal Canin Hepatic 14 dry kibble -they told me to crush the kibble because it would be too large for her little mouth. They told me there were a few things I could add to make it better - Gerber vegetable baby food (sweet potatoe, green bean, baby carrots, mixed veggies) or 1 teaspoon of plain yogurt. For treats - Cheerios, rice cakes, raw green beans, raw baby carrots. This was directly from her post op sheet. She will eat the Hills LD if I blend it with water in the food processor and make it the consistancy of baby food. I leave the kibble out at all times and she will eat that occasionally, too. I'm glad you are getting to visit her. ~~~Valerie

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

I think 22% is too high. Mine eats Science Diet id only by prescrip. We will switch to the Royal Canin Hepatic. Both of these foods are recommended for Liver Shunt and Mvd. The only thing Im finding with a low protein diet the coat will become dry and brittle, I am now supplementing with 3v caps fish oil. Also, be careful with Heartguard plus. It contains beef flavoring.

I forgot to tell you...when I picked Lola up, I was surprised at how long and ugly the incision was. When we got to the car, I cried because it looked so bad and she had that awful collar on and could barely lift her head. It made me so sad! The incision had faded within two weeks; it really was incredible how quickly she healed. She never seemed to be in any pain at all. For the first few days I did use a very soft blanket whenever I picked her up to pad her a little bit - I was afraid she would be a little sore. She was on pain meds for only about 2 days. She was also spayed while there, but she eas trying to run around and play after the first couple of days. They are amazing little babies. I'm so happy that Emma is doing so well!

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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,

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.

Thank you so much!

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 ;)