Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Improvement in dogs with portosystemic shunts after surgery
By Meyer, H P et al.·Published in The Veterinary record·1999·Department of Clinical Sciences of Companion Animals, Netherlands·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Progressive remission of portosystemic shunting in 23 dogs after partial closure of congenital portosystemic shunts.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 23 dogs with a condition called portosystemic shunt, where blood bypasses the liver, underwent surgery to close the shunts. After the procedure, many dogs showed significant improvement, with their ammonia levels dropping and their overall health scores getting better. In 17 dogs, the amount of shunting decreased dramatically after surgery, indicating that their condition was improving. Some dogs needed additional surgery to further address their shunts, but overall, most dogs experienced positive outcomes and felt better after treatment.
People also search for: dog portosystemic shunt treatment · dog liver bypass surgery recovery · symptoms of liver problems in dogs
Abstract
The congenital portosystemic shunts in 23 dogs were closed partially in 18 and completely in five with a single silk ligature. The clinical results were studied and the degree of portosystemic shunting was measured by a scintigraphic method, the results being expressed as the shunt index (SI). In 17 of the dogs, the mean (sd) SI decreased from 0.92 (0.16) before surgery to 0.34 (0.25) during surgery after the attenuation of the shunt, and then to 0.10 (0.12) one month later. The dogs' venous ammonia concentration decreased from 203 (122) microM before surgery to 36 (18) one month after surgery. At the same time the clinical scores improved significantly. There were positive correlations between the SI and the general evaluation of the dogs' well-being by their owners (rs = 0.60), the ammonia concentration (rs = 0.86), and the diameter of the shunt (rs = 0.86). In the other six dogs, the intraoperative and/or postoperative SI was high. In two of them the shunt was further attenuated during a second operation, which resulted in lower SI values; in two a second small shunt was responsible for the high SI; in one multiple portosystemic shunts were found postmortem; and one dog was lost to follow-up.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10230010/