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04-17-2012, 10:46 AM | #1 |
Donating YT Addict Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Oakland County MI
Posts: 6,190
| Help Quick Liver shunt question I have done some searching and thread reading here, but I am pressed for time, a new friend of mine has a 6 month old morkie, Harley has not been putting on weight, his hair is not very healthy looking, and he often vomits bile. She just had a bile test done and the results were not good, the resting number, which I guess is before food was 270 and then it went to 320. Is this bile test conclusive to making the determination if the dog has liver shunt? She is thinking of having a specialist in Auburn Hills MI perform an ultrasound tomorrow, with the exam she will spend around $450.00. She was given a ball park price of around $4,000 for the surgery, which her husband has already said they will not spend. This gal suffers from a bit of depression and anxiety which is making it harder for her to research and process all the information. This is her first small dog and she is reached out to me because I am known around the neighborhood as the yorkie lady, yet fortunately I have never been faced with this so my knowledge is very minimal. I have read enough to be dangerous and I also know that the best place is in Knoxville which I know they will not be able to go to. I guess I was wondering if the ultra sound will really give them more information, and if indeed it is liver shunt and they don't plan on having the surgery I can't help but wonder why bother then. Is there any other treatment other than the surgery, could the bile number mean any other type of problem. I tried to suggest she join here but I believe at the moment she is to stressed to join and post about it, so I was hoping I could do that. Thanks for any help and advice you care to share
__________________ Lola my amazing little yorkie-pom Donna |
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04-17-2012, 05:04 PM | #2 |
Donating YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Texas
Posts: 664
| My Lola had a liver shunt that was diagnosed when she was around a year old. I only did the Bile Acid Test and her numbers were so high, I felt they were conclusive enough that she did, indeed, have a shunt. I decided against any further testing at home because I knew I was going to take her to Knoxville to have the surgery done and they would most probably rely on Scintigraphy anyway. I opted to save the money. She did have a shunt, Dr Tobias sucessfully repaired it 3 years ago and she is doing great. I hope if your friend can't afford the surgery that she will give the baby to a reputable rescue that can, and will, take care of him. Liver shunts make them terribly sick and with numbers like his, I would not think his survival rate would be very good. Good luck. |
04-17-2012, 05:09 PM | #3 |
Donating YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Texas
Posts: 664
| Let me also say that I took Lola to Knoxville within 2 weeks of her diagnosis. She had the same symptoms that you say your friend's baby has. Lola had no neurological symptoms. Hopefully, someone else will answer some of your other questions about alternative treatments. Unfortunately, I think with numbers that high, surgery is the best treatment. |
04-17-2012, 05:23 PM | #4 |
YT 2000 Club Donating Member | Don't waste the money on an ultrasound, they should be going to Univ of Tennessee as you know. And if already hubby is saying no go to $4000, well what about $2000, what about looking at the thread for Help with Vet expenses. Then if she truly wants to save this pups life, surrender within the week to a rescue that will see to it he gets the surgery he needs. Restricted diet at this point will not be able to handle a liver shunt without the necessary operation. At least it is and will only be a very short term solution
__________________ Razzle and Dara. Our clan. RIP Karma Dec 24th 2004-July 14 2013 RIP Zoey Jun9 th 2008-May 12 2012. RIP Magic,Mar 26 2006July 1st 2018 |
04-17-2012, 05:40 PM | #5 |
Resident Yorkie Nut Donating YT 20K Club Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Texas
Posts: 27,451
| I agree with both of the above posters. Very sad story...I hope she ends up with a solution that she can live with.
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04-17-2012, 06:07 PM | #6 |
Rosehill Yorkies Donating YT Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Houston Texas
Posts: 9,462
| Such a sad turn of events....I am in complete agreement with the above posters.....if the husband is not willing to be financially responsible for this baby, your friend will need to relinquish this baby immediately so he can get the help he DESERVES. Thank God I do not have a significant other that refuses to take care of my babies.... Last edited by Yorkiemom1; 04-17-2012 at 06:09 PM. |
04-18-2012, 06:27 PM | #7 |
Donating YT Addict Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Oakland County MI
Posts: 6,190
| quick update, the dog did have the ultra sound, I told her it would probably be a waste of money but she seemed to want to got the extra step so for about $550.00 it was inconclusive except that the dog has a small liver. There is one other blood test that she opted to have done and it can only be run at Cornell, so they will have the results back Mon. I wish I could remember what the test was for, but it is to test for a condition that is not operable and if the dog has it they can manage it by meds for about a year or so. She is now planning on going ahead with the operation, apparently it was her regular vet that seemed to try to talk them into not having it because of the expense. But she is very attached to Harley and wants him to have a good chance at life. After seeing the internist and the surgeon they feel more optimistic. One of the surgeons was trained at U of T and the other one at MI state so they are both well trained and have done a lot of liver shunt operations. They claim to do a newer procedure where they clamp the liver or the shunt in a way that in time it closes more, they say this prevents a rush of the toxins to hit the liver at once it's more gradual. I might not be explaining this exactly right since it is second hand info and some of this goes over my head, but the jest of it is a gradual process rather than a rush. The dog is on antibiotics in preparation for what most likely will be surgery and another med that is supposed to help eliminate some of what the liver is not doing. surgery is tentatively scheduled for tues. She said they thought about going to TN but don't want to wait and the dog does not do well in the car, he gets very car sick and stressed so they feel they don't want to put him through that, and she really liked the specialists, they seemed to really understand liver shunt and were very patient in explaining everything. So I guess we will see, thanks for your comments
__________________ Lola my amazing little yorkie-pom Donna |
04-18-2012, 07:07 PM | #8 |
Resident Yorkie Nut Donating YT 20K Club Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Texas
Posts: 27,451
| Thank you for the update! I am SO happy to hear that they are going to take care of this pup! Please keep us posted on this.
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06-26-2012, 09:22 AM | #9 |
Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Chicago, IL, USA
Posts: 56
| My Liver Shunt Boy I know this is an old thread but found it searching for Liver Shunt. My liver shunt boy is now 7 years old. He had surgery when he was a little over a year old, so about 6 years ago. I went to a specialized vet in a suburb of Chicago for the surgery. They used a procedure that placed a clamp on the open vessel. He had to stay on meds for about 4 months after the surgery. The idea was the clamp would cause scar tissue to fill in the open vessel. Well, it worked and he has wonderful liver tests now. I know about the doc at U of TN but wanted to share my story because it's not the only place you can get a LS fixed. After Ziggy's ultrsound by the surgery vet place, they told me "you will have a brand new dog" and they were right. It cost around $3,000. I was so distraught but things worked out. The only thing now is his diet. Next I will search that to see what other LS survivors are eating.
__________________ Pink Ziggy Cassie Alice Ozzy King Lucky |
06-26-2012, 09:46 AM | #10 | |
I♥PeekTinkySaph&Finny Donating Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Baltimore, Maryland
Posts: 18,866
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06-26-2012, 10:50 AM | #11 |
Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Chicago, IL, USA
Posts: 56
| How wonderful! Our vet (surgeon) did a biopsy during surgery and said he has dysplasia of the liver cells so he must have low protein food for the rest of his life. We feed the prescription diet K/D. Everything else seems to have high protein. He is happy with the K/D food. We don't give any table food so he has no idea about human food. Since rawhides are out, we found dried sweet potatoes for him to chew and he loves those. He wanted to live so badly, we had to save him. He was so sick, he shouldn't have made it. What a will to live he showed us! Now he's a big strapping boy of 7 pounds.
__________________ Pink Ziggy Cassie Alice Ozzy King Lucky |
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