Liver Shunt Surgery, Any positive outcome stories?

Hi,

I am still waiting for the final diagnosis on Misty's condition. All the results should be in by 4:00p.m. today.

If anyone has any positive stories to share about your dog's life after liver shunt surgery I would love to receive them.

Misty's symptoms include a stone in her bladder, an undersized liver, an occassional tiny drop of blood found on the peepee pad and excessive water intake and urination. She does not have the usual more dramatic symptoms, but the symptoms she does have at this point still point to a liver problem.

We have a mini vacation planned to begin the 26th of July and returning home on the 30th of July. Both Misty and Topper would be at a friends house during that time.

My question is if the diagnosis received today is liver shunt should I have the surgery prior to our trip or wait until we return. I will be asking the doctor this also, but would like input on hopefully the recovery of other Maltese who have been through this process.

Thank you.

Sharon

I see that you are greatly concerned for your baby by the two recent Post you have submitted. I understand your concern and your frustration that you may have by getting no response. I wish I could help you or give you some uplifting news, but I know nothing of that condition. Sorry. But I did have a thought so you may get more "hits" on your topic and maybe find someone who does know something, Submit another post and use the word inbreeding in the topic space.
You may suggest that it could be an inherited trait caused by inbreeding. This topic seems to get everyone's attention on this site.
Hope your baby gets better.

I haven't had the experience with the shunt but it is my understanding that once fully repaired they can go on to have happy "healthy" and normal lives. Diet requirements may be called for in some cases I think.
Please keep us updated!

Hi Sharon,

I only come on here occasionally so I just saw your post. Did you get a diagnosis on your baby yet? I am going thru the same thing right now. Cody, my 1 1/2 old Maltese was diagnosed with a possible liver shunt. I am heading to California September 17 for a proper diagnosis and possible surgery. How old is your Maltese? I would wait until you get back. Be sure you find the right surgeon. Its very important since these dogs are so small. I'm not sure how far you are from Tennessee but the University of Tennesse, particularly Dr. Tobias, are specialists with the surgery and they are fairly reasonable with their price. It is a bit too far for me to travel since I live in Portland Oregon and Cody barks too much to fly him. UT recommended Dr. Gassel in Irvine, CA as he is a recent resident at UT and has done this surgery many times on small dogs. If it is a liver shunt it is repairable and hopefully Misty can live a long healthy life!

Evelyn
(and Cody)

Hi everyone --
My 3 year old Tilly has also been dx'd with a possible liver shunt based on amonium biurate crystals in his urine (diagnosed during a single episode of blood in urine) and is going in for a bile acid study on MOnday. I am really anxious -- he's been lethargic lately and has been stopping on his walks to lay down. Other than that, he is eating, pooping, and seems ok. Not sure what's going on, but I am worried sick about it. The tests tend to lead to more tests, which I hope I can afford. I'll be watching this post -- please keep your babies' stories updated so we all can learn about this condition! Thanks!
Amy

O. k. I have a dumb question. . . .

Ralph was diagnosed with "crystals in his bladder" ( like amyr says about Tilly in previous post)

I was told it was from high levels of ph in his body and was given a prescription dog food that seems to have helped. So my question is. . are crystals and liver shunt problems related? ! Could Ralph have something like this and I don't know?

From my very limited understanding of liver disease, crystals in the bladder could be a symptom of a liver shunt. Have you had a full blood work up on Ralph lately? I discovered Cody's liver disease thru his routine bloodwork. He had very high liver enzyme values. I then had a Bile Acid Test Done and it confirmed it. Also, does Ralph have any type of symptoms?

Evelyn

Ralph had full blood work done about 3 months ago with his last bladder infection and nothing was mentioned other than crystals in his bladder that caused irritation and infection, they said it was from a high ph in his body and put him on a prescription dog food to lower the ph and he has done fine since then.

He has had no symptoms after getting better from the bladder infection, and the symptoms of that were going out 3 or 4 times a night, and when he went out he would not go all at once, he would go a little, walk around and go a little more, and walk around and go a little more. It was asked if he was "marking his territory" but he has never done that as he was fixed at 5 months old. Other symptoms included drinking allot, and just laying around like he didn't feel good.

But after changing his food we have had no more problems or infections. I have not had his blood reworked due to no symptoms. He seems fine now.

Glad to hear Ralph is doing better with a diet change. I'm going as far as the ultrasound at this point, mostly for my own peace of mind as Till has been a little lethargic lately and wont walk consistently on a leash (sitting down, etc. - not like him). Its scheduled for next week. I'm switching to a vet that I used to work for and like better than the one who is treating him now, and talked to him today. He thought it might be an issue managed with diet and meds, too. Cross fingers, all!

Thank you to all who responded. Misty did have the surgery on July 13 and is doing fine. She was 9 months old at the time. Today I got the results of her post surgery bile acid levels and the vet said "they are essentially normal" and that there is no need for further testing. Prior to the surgery and even on an empty stomach the bile levels were off the chart.

Until today I was afraid to check the answers to my questions in case there were no good outcomes. So for you who are worried about your pets I am providing a positive outcome story.

She really recovered quite rapidly considering she was spayed and had to have the stone in her bladder removed along with the liver shunt surgery. She is a tiny dog, only 4.4 lbs at surgery time and now has gained almost a pound as she weighs in at 5.2 lbs as of Tuesday and that was on an empty stomach!!!

The hardest part of her recovery was keeping her from overdoing it. She was not allowed to do stairs and I had to block them off. Also she was not allowed to play with her brother Topper for two very long weeks. The good news is she wanted to play and climb those stairs soooo badly. She had to wear a collar for the two weeks to keep her from licking the incision.

So there is life after liver shunt surgery.

Sharon

Sharon.. I am so happy the surgery is overwith and that Misty is doing so well!! That's FANTASTIC NEWS!..and so happy for you both!