What The Pug??

The Verdict Is In.... Almost

Well, it's looking like I have a liver shunt.

I went to see Sally's IM vet on Wednesday. He was completely charmed by my Pugness, my lovely flat face and adorable little curly tail. The one thing he wasn't prepared for were all my NOISES! He even asked at one point if I were ever quiet. Mom and dad thought about it and said no, but they'd become accustomed to it so they didn't think about it much anymore! Yes, I snort and snark and grunt and groan and pant and cry and whine... It was even hard for him to listen to my heart because of how noisy I am when I breathe! But the best part were the burps. Mom and dad aren't even used to that! What can I say, I'm a gassy gal!! And boy, did I burp A LOT on Wednesday!

Dr. Richter checked me out all over. He looked at my X-rays from Dr. Hansche and noticed right away that my liver is small. Good indicator of a shunt he says. I could have one of three kinds of shunts: an extra vein outside my liver, an extra vein inside my liver, and a capillary deformity inside the liver itself. The last type is NOT good, it's untreatable and it didn't sound like I'd do very well if that was the case. The other two types are fixable surgically, so the next step was to figure out what kind I have. They took me to ultrasound (where I got my tummy shave for the second time in a month) and tried to look at my insides. Now, even on my best behavior, I'm not capable of being "still" and I was wiggling and squirming pretty good. Dr. Richter got a look at something he thought was an external shunt, but he couldn't be sure because of my moving. However, he noticed that my portal vein (the big vein that takes blood into the liver) was about half the size it should be, another good indicator of an external shunt.

What to do now? I have to go back for a very special test called a portal scan. They will put some radioactive stuff in me (in a place I choose not to mention) and it will get in my bloodstream. Then they will make me go night night so I'll be very still and they'll use a VERY special camera on me to follow the path of the radioactive material. If it diverts away from my liver, BINGO, we have a confirmed shunt! The next step will be surgery and Dr. Richter will go in and tie off the extra vein so all of my blood will start filtering through my liver as it's supposed to. Over time, my liver and portal vein will return to normal size and before you know it, I'll be 100% normal. Well, as normal as I can be!!

When puppies are still inside their mamas, they have a shunt, that keeps their mama's blood from filtering through their own kidneys. It's supposed to close off after birth, but not all of them do. Mine apparently was one of those that didn't. The bladder stones were a result of all the bad stuff not being filtered out of my blood properly and winding up being dumped in my bladder.

This is a good thing. Mom and dad are relieved that there's a fix for what I have, but they're not looking forward to the surgery. Just my little bladder surgery left me pretty low and this will be a major surgery, but it's something I have to have.

The best part? I won't have to eat a restrictive diet and can go on having the thing I love more than anything else: FRENCH FRIES!! I only get one or two but mmmmmmm..... Love them!!

So I figure, I've rounded second and am heading for third. Boy, will I be thrilled when I get to home plate!!!