digitalwingx

Thanks for sharing the story bel. Yeah I feel the symptoms of liver shunt can sometimes be overlooked if you are not looking for it; the hepatic encephalopathy can be devastating to the pets and their owners. I'm pretty sure if I ever get another dog first thing I'm gonna do is to do a blood test. On food since we have been doing a lot of researching, a lot of opinions on the Internet is that "commercial food is the devil"; I'm wonder how people on this forums think about it? If home made diet better? (our cat has always been on home made raw diet and have beautiful furs).

@JulesP: it's a Shiba so it's medium sized dog - a little hard to predict what type of shunt we are looking at. @*kirty*: yeah it's the vet we visited; it's reassuring that you heard success stories. @TigerJack: yeah it seems shunts in Yorkies are fairly common. We are lucky we found out this early at 7 months, but unlucky since we are not insured. From the numbers I gather the tests and ops all up should be around $3~5k, whereas the $12k number is rather high so let's hope it's not as expensive. We have booked for CT at VRH next Wednesday and fingers crossed it's an operable shunt.

Thanks *kirty* & JulesP. @*kirty*: do you happen to have any of your dogs or know anyone's dogs having successful liver shunt surgery story at VRH in Hallam? @JulesP: Yeah regarding CT vs ultrasound pricing, the one we got is roughly $2k vs $1.5k. If that extra $500 give us a clearer picture and may aid a better surgery, there seems to be case for spending that extra $500. Regardlessly, this whole ordeal is gonna burn a hole in our wallet. I understood that not all shunts are equal; it could be multiple or difficult to operate; we won't know after the next step. Based on my research extrahepatic shunts are easier to operate than intrahepatic, is it correct? Another question, right now is it necessary for us to switch off the high protein commercial kibbles (super premium brand - whatever that means) we feed her?

Hi guys, first time poster. Our 7 month old puppy had two rounds of blood tests (first time around 6.5 months, second around 7 months) showed elevated ALT (150 and 210). The subsequent bile acid test come back abnormal (4, then 108). She is otherwise acting normal (no neurological symptoms) and have normal growth for a 7 month old. But the bile acid test points to liver problem and the vet believes it is most likely due to liver shunt. The vet recommended ultrasound or CT to determine if it is shunt and the position of the shunt(s). My questions are: Is CT the best next step in term of diagnosing her liver problem (vet said CT is superior to ultrasound - but cost $500 more)? What about Scintigraphy? Is it worthwhile to seek second opinion from different specialist And in the case of confirmed liver shunt(s), does anyone have recommendation on a good surgeon in Melbourne? Thanks very much and any info is appreciated.