Liver shunt surgery Emma

[DAB]

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

[Judy in Waco]

Oh, most definitely! Hugs and prayers from all of us.

[kjc]

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

[BonBon]

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

[Lolasmom1211]

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

[yorkiemalt]

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

[manolos mom]

Prayers prayers and more prayers for all of you

[ARCHIE]

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.

[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

[TLC]

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

[TLC]

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

[Lolasmom1211]

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

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

[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

[manolos mom]

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.

[Lolasmom1211]

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

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!