I am doing lots better now. My surgery is coming up soon. I have to have surgery because I have a liver shunt. My doctor said that a liver shunt is a congenital defect that keeps my blood from properly filtering through my liver causing toxins to flow throughout my body. Because of my liver shunt, I have had seizures, haven’t been hungry and I am still really small.
A liver shunt is easier to see after a puppy is done weening. My doggy mommy helped my liver work before and now I need to be able to do it myself. My parents came and got me when I was 8 weeks old and I had just gotten off weening a week before that. My parents were worried about me so they took me to Dr. Wallace and Aunt Nic to get a blood test. After that, I had a Bile Acid Test. For any other pups out there, be sure to tell your Breeder, Potential Parents or New Parents about a Bile Acid Test. It’s a simple, noninvasive procedure that can tell the doctors if your liver is properly functioning. Dr. Wallace and Aunt Nic said that the test results showed I had a liver shunt, but to be sure they told my mommy and daddy to take me to a special doctor. The special doctor did an Ultrasound. My tummy hair was shaved off, and I got to see what the inside of my body looked like. The special doctor said the Ultrasound showed an image of the shunt, and my parents set me up for a consultation with the surgeon.
My parents talked to the surgeon for a loooooong time. My grandma was there too and she asked lots of questions. I was getting really tired and bored until the surgeon took me out of my crate and picked me up. He looked at me really funny and then told my parents that he thought I was too small to have surgery that day and would like me to go on special foods, medicine and grow a little bit before he did surgery.
The liver shunt surgery can have between a 70% – 90% success rate. I heard my parents say they want a ring on my shunt. This ring, called an Ameroid Constrictor, slowly closes the shunt, sending my blood through my liver at a slower rate, until it eventually closes off the Shunt.
I hope that helps someone out there! My surgery is scheduled for a little less than a month from now, and if you’d like to help us out, be sure to check out the new DONATIONS PAGE.
