Possible Liver Shunt? (long)

Submitted by brcjzl on July 19, 2011 - 11:27am

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Has anyone had a bully with a liver shunt? If so, what were the symptoms? I'm wondering if our dog has a shunt or something else wrong. He is now 12 weeks old and apears to be doing fine. He eats, plays, bites (ouch) and is growing. He was 8 pounds when we got him and is now about 15 pounds.

History:

Four days after taking possesion of our 8 week old bully pup we noticed blood in his urine. Also, he was drinking/peeing a lot but we thought that was just because he was a puppy. We took him to the vet and he took a urine sample and did an ultrasound of his bladder. At that time, the vet thought he saw stones but was not sure. He thought that if a puppy this young has stones it could be due to a liver shunt. While waiting for the results, he was placed on Clavamox for an infection. A week later the results of the urinalysis showed an e-coli infection. Because the strain was resistent to most antibiotics he suggested we test the urine again to verify the results. He stated that the stones might be beacuse of the severe infection but thought we should check his blood to rule out a shunt. Blood was drawn to check the liver count. and he did another ultrasound of the bladder which he let me view. This time, the stones were clear as stars in the night sky. A week later we got the results back from these tests and they showed that the Clavamox, which was resistent to the e-coli, was actually helping clear up the infection. We noticed that he wasn't peeing as much, so we thought that too. Unfortunately, the vet said our pups liver count is 6x higher than normal. We are continuing the Clavamox and the vet is contacting a surgeon/specialist to see how to proceed on a possible shunt issue.

no help or advice here, but good thoughts for your little guy.

Submitted by Kim Sebastian O... on July 19, 2011 - 11:59am.

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Kim, Remy Le Beau, Lord Sebastian, and Sir Oliver

get as much info as possible.....

Submitted by judy wilson on July 20, 2011 - 5:32pm.

in such a young pup....i dont know...but go to a hospital that has a bulldog vet on hand...find a vet that knows about liver shunts...it just seems so younf to have stones....have you talked to the person you bought the dog from...can they help...didi you get any names of other puppy owners...to see if they had problems?

never feel alone always come to this board to let us know what is happening.....someone may be able to help....

I'm trying to get as much info as possible...

Submitted by brcjzl on July 21, 2011 - 8:59am.

My vet is in the process of consulting with specialists regarding this condition. I have talked to the person I got the dog from. She said none of the other pups are sick. (11 in the litter.) She has been helpful and responds to all my calls and emails but has not had any experience with shunts. The pup was on antibiotics for a stuffy nose when we got him. I think that masked the bladder infection because once the pills ran out ( 3 days after we picked up our pup) that is when we noticed the blood. He no longer has the minor issues from the first couple weeks we had him. (Regurgitating a few times a day, excessive urination, occasional stuffy nose.)

I think I'm going to have the vet perform a bile acid test just to confirm the base line blood test. He is growing. Everything I read regarding a shunt states that growth is stunted. I weighed him today and he is 16 pounds at 12 weeks. He was 8 when we got him at 8 weeks.

The sad part about all this is my wonderful bulldog friend Bailey passed away a couple months ago from over heating. He was on the way home from the vet (different vet) for ironically bladder stones/infection. Heat had never been an issue for him prior to this. The vets were able to stabilize him and get him cooled down. He died the next day at an emergency hospital where he spent the night for observation. Everything seemed fine as the called and said he is ready to go home. When we arrived to pick him up, he got worked up when they removed his IV and was panting hard. They placed him in an oxygen cage and told us to come back in a couple hours. He didn't make it. He was just short of six years old. The vet said he had a small trachea and should have had surgery on his palate. We wish we would have known about this sooner.

dot beat yourself up over the past.....

Submitted by judy wilson on July 21, 2011 - 10:08am.

i left a vet becasue they were defensive...and it was always what did you expect its a bulldog ect.....my wilson has a small trachea....and yes i am careful about alot of things.....my new vet is a dream....its not all excuses their bulldogs....the possibility of bailey passing during surgery was high...so dont beat yourself up i no its easier said then done....

gaining weight with a liver shunt does make little sense.....more testing i would never tell anyone not to test.....keep learning keep reading...what are you feeding...have you thought about a raw diet...especilally if the puppy is unwell...this could be the best diet for him??? puppy food could be to rich...what brand are you feeding?

OMG

Submitted by brcjzl on July 21, 2011 - 1:15pm.

The emergency vet said the same thing about Bailey. Pretty much said they are nothing but trouble and have all kinds of issues and people only buy them because they're cute. Needless to say she won't ever see me again.

I'm feeding Fromm Beef Fritatta now. He was on Biljac when we got him from the breeder.

Liver Shunt Follow-up

Submitted by brcjzl on August 19, 2011 - 8:11am.

Liam does have a liver shunt. Surgery was performed last Thursday to attempt to correct the shunt and remove the bladder stones. The shunt was large and intra heptatic. It was a difficult operation and the surgeon was unable to repair it using an ameroid constrictor. However, he was able to use silk thread to partially tie off the shunt. The hope is the body will produce enough scar tissue to close off the shunt in the near future. A blood test will be performed in eight weeks to determine how successful the surgery was. Luckily our vet had enough knowledge to suspect a liver shunt when he saw bladder stones in such a young puppy.

Desperate to hear more

Submitted by claroquesi on September 22, 2011 - 9:17am.

I am in the same boat as you! My 13 week old puppy has 2 shunts and I am a wreck! I would love to hear about the follow-up results, the cost incured and really ANYTHING else you can tell me about this process I have had her for a little over three weeks and I really could use some help or information from someone who has been through this!

Thanks so so much in advance.