Cholecystectomy / Gallbladder Removal

[jennajones]

Maddy, my ACDx had an acute gall bladder infection last Monday. She is now stabilised and home for some R and R. Next Tuesday the plan is to remove the gallbladder.

I understand it's a big operation and the vet has told me that Maddy will need to be in hospital for 2 - 5 days after the op.

I did a search on other topics and couldn't find anything. There appears to be very little on line so I suspect it is not a common procedure. I'm interested in other peoples' experiences so I can have some ideas of what might happen post op.

thanks

storm

Edited July 4, 2009 by jennajones

[Chocolate]

I've never heard of dogs having to have the gall bladder removed. It's getting very common in humans due to Western Diet of too much wrong fats. I'm surprised by the long hospital stay. When I had mine out I was only in hospital for 24hrs. Of course now I know that there are alternatives to having the gall bladder removed and only wish I had known about them before. Just make sure they give her pain relief and ensure she doesn't spend too much time led down not doing anything. The sooner you get her up and moving around the better. Good luck with your doggy.

[jennajones]

Thanks for that. My vet is very keen on pain relief so there will be plenty of that going on :-) I want to have a fentanyl patch too - it's only fair.

Last week she had a peracute infection that was located in the gallbladder - I nearly lost her and am keen to avoid that happening again.

I hope the vet is being cautious with the amount of time in hosp. They usually let me spend a couple of hours with her each day she is in there so I should be able to tell when she is ready to come home.

[Lizzy06]

Thanks for that. My vet is very keen on pain relief so there will be plenty of that going on :-) I want to have a fentanyl patch too - it's only fair.

Last week she had a peracute infection that was located in the gallbladder - I nearly lost her and am keen to avoid that happening again.

I hope the vet is being cautious with the amount of time in hosp. They usually let me spend a couple of hours with her each day she is in there so I should be able to tell when she is ready to come home.

Hi i was just curious whether there was away around avoiding having it removed? My little one has a few health issues, she had an ultrasound done a few weeks back and her gall bladder is very large and abnormal in appearance. I have started treating her a more natural way and the vet is confident we can avoid surgery. I don't know if this is possible in your case as it sounds very serious.

[jennajones]

Hi Lizzy

I'm late for work but can you tell me what lead you to the ultrasound and what sort of treatments you are looking at?

I haven't looked at not removing the gallbladder - everything is happening so quickly. Maddy got sick last Monday - in the morning she didn't finish her breakfast, when I came home she had collapsed and was up to the vet - on a drip with loads of abs, plasma etc, unable to do anything for her self. She's responded so well to the treatment that it looks like a bacterial infection.

I like to research my options before hand but there hasn't been any time with this one so I am really interested in your experience.

thanks

storm

[Lizzy06]

Hi Lizzy

I'm late for work but can you tell me what lead you to the ultrasound and what sort of treatments you are looking at?

I haven't looked at not removing the gallbladder - everything is happening so quickly. Maddy got sick last Monday - in the morning she didn't finish her breakfast, when I came home she had collapsed and was up to the vet - on a drip with loads of abs, plasma etc, unable to do anything for her self. She's responded so well to the treatment that it looks like a bacterial infection.

I like to research my options before hand but there hasn't been any time with this one so I am really interested in your experience.

thanks

storm

Hello

My little girl was exposed to chicken jerky treats from china for about 3-6 months last year and got very sick. They have left her with a few unknown health issues. We don't know the total extent of damge to her organs etc. But at one stage they thought she had renal failure, she suffers from pancreatitias also from having these treats. She is almost 3 and has been sick on and off since feb last year. We did the ultrasound and Xrays to try and see if we could work out what was going on with her. It didn't give us to many answers as the vet who did the ultrasound was not competent i don't think. But her Gall Bladder was enornmous and her pancreas looked inflamed etc. They wanted to cut her open and have alook at all he organs but i really don't want to put her through that. I contacted a vet in Sydney. All natural vet care, i posted a topic on this forum and had great reviews about how they had helped dogs with cancer etc. I had a phone consult with Barbara the other day and she seems certain we can help her organs via Chinese Herbs and antioxdents and probiotics and then change her diet around.

I only started her on the herbs on saturday. I'm not saying this will help your girl as i'm not a vet but if surgery can be avoided i'm all for it! Keep me updated and i would seriously ask about alternative treatment if you have time on your side.

Cheers Kris with Miss Lizzy

[jennajones]

Hello

My little girl was exposed to chicken jerky treats from china for about 3-6 months last year and got very sick. .....

I only started her on the herbs on saturday. I'm not saying this will help your girl as i'm not a vet but if surgery can be avoided i'm all for it! Keep me updated and i would seriously ask about alternative treatment if you have time on your side.

Cheers Kris with Miss Lizzy

___________________________

Thanks for that Kris, I know the vet you are talking about. They are actually only a couple of suburbs away from me.

I was pretty keen to go for the surgery because the illness came on so suddenly - left for work and she was a bit flat, came home and she was nearly dead. I felt I couldn't risk another occasion of illness that sudden.

anyway, so Maddy had the surgery Tuesday last. She recovered incredibly quickly, helped I suspect, by her very stiff back which meant she can not get to the stitches. Stitches out on Friday - healed up nicely

We are still on a fat-reduced diet and have in a week some more blood work scheduled to see how her liver is coping. Hopefully then we can go to a more normal diet. In the mean time she is enjoying have 4 meals a day, instead of 2.

How is Miss Lizzy responding to her herbs?

thanks

storm