Liver Shunt Surgery or not?

[Pange]

My 7month old heeler collie cross has a liver shunt. She hasnt had the CT scan yet which is $2,500 to find out if she can be operated on, so I dont know if surgery is likely to be successful or not. Then the surgery costs could be up to $8,000. I so dont know what to do. If she doent have surgery, then medical support can sometimes only go so far and she may live for long - a few years. I'd love to know what has been the experience of others having surgery or by managing medically?

[persephone]

Welcome - sorry it's not in the best of cicumstances . I'll tag  @JulesP  as I think her experience will be helpful. 

[JulesP]

Hi

 

Sorry you are in this situation. The surgery is risky but if successful the dog normally lives a normal life span. I chose to have a specialist ultrasound rather than going straight to the CT. Specialist in that it was at a vet emergency place rather than a normal vets. This did show up the shunts, which were inoperable. Doing that could be a gamble as if it doesn't show up the problem you then have to get the CT and end up paying more money. There are also risks with the CT as they need to sedate the puppy which isn't good with liver issues. 

 

I treated my dog medically. She was given given 6 months to live at 11 months old. She will be turning 8 this year. It is hard work and you need to be pretty dedicated with the medicine and food. The medicine and food are also going to add up to a lot of money. You have to be careful with worming and vaccinations. If they get sick with something else then it becomes tricky to treat them with other drugs or if they need a general. 

 

Good luck with whatever you decide. If you have any other questions just ask.