Sorry to infiltrate your forum
 

I am not a yorkie owner so i aplogize in advance.
I do however own 3 maltese andi found this forum after doing google searches on liver shunts.
I have a girl who will be 3 in march.
She just had the shunt surgery and I am going nuts trying to figure out if her behavior is normal for post op.
She had the procedure on thur...stayed in a hospital that is about 3 hours away until Saturday.
I picked her up and took her home .
She is on antibiotics, anit seizure meds, pain meds, and lactilose
She has been pretty tired and not moving too much...she's eating and drinking but Only when I pick her up carry her to her bowl and feed her by hand.
She actually threw up twice today...it was in a row...not seperate parts of he day.
She is sleeping next to me right now so I can monitor her.
I have no idea if this is normal or if she needs to go back to the hospital .
I called them but the surgeon is off until tomorrow....they are under staffed bc of the holiday .
Can anyone who knows about this tell me a tying about this recovery?
Any help would be appreciated .
Again, I'm sorry about my dog not being a yorkie but this forum seems to know a lot about this surgery .

Thank you In advance
R

Hi and Welcome to YT!

My dog had the surgery. She was sore for a while after, so slow moving and not too interested in food (pain meds can do that). It can take quite a few days for them to really start acting somewhat normal.

Are your pup's gums pink? I would say if you have any doubts, take her to an ER and have a vet check her out.... it would well be worth having the peace of mind...

Thinking maybe one of her meds may not be agreeing with her? IDK. With vomiting, one has to worry about aspiration...

What are the anti seizure meds for?

Please don't apologize...you're not intruding at all. A shunt is a shunt no matter what breed it's in and we all love our babies so you have to take all the information you can find when you need it :)

Welcome and good luck with your baby...

Apparently seizures are a problem potentially after the surgery. So they put her on these meds 48 hours before and some time after...the fact that she's eating makes me feel better ( she's on the LD can ) but man it's tough to see her like this.
Before the surgery she a symptomatic ...so you couldn't even tell she was sick.
Now she's a mess and I feel bad bc I feel responsible in some way bc I decided to do it.
They said she would get very I'll bc. Of the shunt if I didn't ...and like I said the hospital is very far away. From what I have Ben reading here, many of you got on a plane so I should feel better.
But the whole ordeal has been horrible...especially before Xmas.
The kids are upset, I'm upset...and she's nasty looking and in need of a bath.
I guess I'll wait till the morning And see how she looks and decide then.

Exactly! We love our babies Yorkie or not! I have a Beagle too! :D.

I am so sorry about your baby. I have no experience with this but would like to send a special prayer that your baby feels better soon. I know someone here will be able to give you more information.

The seizure meds are given because of this problem ( taken from here as a copy paste ACVS - Portosystemic Shunts (PSS))


One of the most problematic post-op complications is development of seizures that are refractory to treatment.* This occurs most frequently in toy breed dogs, in the first 4-5 days post-op.* The cause of these seizures is unknown, but is thought to be due to the fact that in the shunting state, toxins in the circulation bathing the brain prompt the body to produce endogenous(made within the body) benzodiazepines (valium-like substances) that act as anti-seizure medication.* Post-op, it is possible that seizures occur because the brain has adapted to that altered metabolism or because of sudden withdrawal of the anticonvulsant effects of the endogenous benzodiazepines that are no longer being produced since the shunt was ligated. Seizures can be are managed with anti-seizure medication (Phenobarbital, potassium bromide).* In severe cases, intravenous administration of pentobarbital, propofol (anesthetic agent) and/or calium may be required to control seizures.* Post-op development of seizures that are poorly controlled by medication is a very poor prognosis.

I am so sorry your baby is not feeling well. My little female had her liver shunt repaired 4 years ago. She stayed in the hospital for 2 nights and then was released to me. She was very, very clingy when she was first released and was not too interested in food. She did not come home on antibiotics or antiseizure meds, but each dog is different. Was your little one having seizures or neurological symtoms prior to the surgery? Lola was not, nor was she on antibiotics. The antiseizure meds could be making your little one throw
up or it could be the other meds. We were also not close to where we had the surgery performed. If it were me and she were not considerably better very, very soon, I would take her to my local vet to have her checked. I think she should be tired and a little sore, but I also think that 3-4 days post-op she should be improving each day...if not, she definitely needs to be seen. I would not want to wait any longer. Keep us posted...

You are not intruding... we welcome all animal lovers. :)

Hope your little girl recovers nicely and sorry I cannot be of help with the medical part.

It could be the medicine but if she was mine I would take her to the vet just to be on the safe side. Keep us updated, welcome to YT

Thinking too the antiseizure meds and the pain meds together may be a little too much for her.... she may just need an adjustment to her dose... something to discuss with the vet. Hope she's feeling better soon...

You are not intruding. Everyone is welcome. Liver shunt is liver shunt, doesn't matter which breed. I have cats. So welcome. I am sorry she is sick. I hope she is on the road to recovery. I was thinking the same thing. Maybe the meds. I would call the vet. They can patch you to the vet on call

I stopped the pain meds bc she was just pumped way too high on meds. She wasn't I terested in food or water this morning . She does seem much more alert though

welcome to yt...i hope your baby recovers asap.

How is your baby feeling today?

You are not intruding as many of us on here have multiple pets including me.

My baby was just diagnose with liver shunts but she is 12 and half years old. My vet wanted to treat her medically because of her age. She is on lactulose and metronidacy (not sure if I'm spelling that right)and on the LD diet. So far she is doing great. She will have to periodic bile acid test done. She will be on these meds probably for the rest of her life. hopefully for what will be a very long life. She was also asymptomatic., well let me rephrase that. The only symptom she had was recurring uti's. It cause me a ton of money to find out why she kept getting uti's.


For my baby, surgery may not be an option so I am keeping my fingers cross that the meds can help her to have a longer and healthy life.

I read your thread late last night and somehow missed a couple of your posts. I think I'm having some computer issues. I was told that I could absolutely not give Lola a bath for at least 2 weeks because of her sutures. I'm not really sure the pain medication is what you should have stopped. She may still need it. It may be a combination of the meds and something your vet just needs to adjust. I think she may need to be seen by your local vet if she is still not eating or drinking. It is so hard to see our babies like this. Please keep us posted - we're all here for you....

I am glad you posted..we love all dogs!
I would talk to the vet to see if some of the meds are clashing, but please don't discontinue her pain meds without speaking to the vet. Those are the ones that I would probably keep her on before all others, honestly.

Praying for your baby's complete recovery!

She's not herself...but better. I'm hoping this is a good sign. Vet bills are so bad...I wish it was less expensive...I don't get how they expect people to do this when it happens so fast.
I mean I did it...but as you can imagine it was a sacrifice being December ...worst month of the year for money .
She's my child though...so there wasn't any decision to make.

Hi and welcome to YT. This is a great site. We have 7 dogs and only one is a Yorkie. People on this site are animal lovers and nobody cares what kind of dog you have as long as you love them. Hope your baby is feeling better. I have a 2 year old shih tzu that has juvenile cararacts and I heard the cost of surgery is going to be about $3000 an eye. Believe me I know about vet bills.

Since stopping the painmeds..she's been doing much better. She is much more active...she even wanted to play with the other dogs...which I didn't allow. But she def wanted to ;)
She's eating and drinking and overall doing wonderful :)
Thank you all so much for your support. So many people just don't understand how attached I am to my dogs ...thanks again :)

New members get monitored for a period of time, their posts don't go through until a mod approves them. Nothing wrong with your computer...

It is very important for them to stay calm during the first 6 weeks of recovery. What method was used to repair her shunt? Surgery on the liver is quite involved as the liver is hard to get to. You may want to continue a lower dose of pain meds for a bit longer, rather than none at all. It wouldn't hurt if she is slightly subdued...

So happy to hear your little one is feeling better. You are right to not let her play too much, even if she wants to. That was one of the hardest parts of Lola's recovery. She wanted to run and play, but they did not want het to run or jump, nor go up and down steps for at least a few weeks. I hope she continues to improve!

Sending thoughts and prayers for her recovery:D

Welcome to YorkieTalk. I don't have any experience with liver shunt, but I understand why you love your baby so much and how much you want to help her. One of my little ones, Ashley, didn't do well when on strong pain meds. She cried a lot and was extremely clingy. I knew she needed the medication to help her rest and to help with her pain so that her body could heal, but I always felt so bad for her. I always saw a huge improvement once I was able to withdraw her medication. You gave your baby a big gift by allowing her to have a normal life. I hope she heals quickly, is free from pain, and has a wonderful life with her mom who loves her so.

I would continue the pain meds. Just cut the dosage down. If its a pill give the dog half or space it out so the dog is not getting them all at one time. This should greatly reduce the vomitting effects.

I wanted to post a follow up.
She is doing so much better. The LD food is terrible...but luckily she doesn't think so, so she's eating it....I'm not a fan of canned food at all. At this point all 3 dogs are on the same food...but the vet told me if I did that to be sure and supplement the other dogs with turkey or chicken etc. she goes in for a follow up next week and new blood work after that.
At that point they will decide whether she needs more time on the LPD or I can slowly up her back onto her real food.
As most of you know, some dogs can go on their real food shortly after, some need 6 months and others always need the restricted diet.
I am hoping for the best.
Thank you all for your support.
With all these pictures of yorkies...I am sooo tempted to make my next one a yorkie or morkie. They are so damn cute :)
I guess I will always be a little dog person!
Again thank you all for the warm welcome and the support...
Have a great new year!

I'm so happy your little one is better. It's miserable when they are not well. I hope she continues to improve! Happy New Year to you, also!