Dog heart failure: How often can abdominal fluid be drained?

It is all dependent on the cause of the liver failure. Is the liver failure due to a primary tumor or other cause? Prognosis varies from pet to pet. Whether it is cirrhosis of the liver or a tumor causing the problem, the prognosis can be days to years depending on how severe it is. What I would recommend is further testing to help determine if there is a primary cause. You can drain his abdomen periodically to make him comfortable. If there is a liver mass, some liver tumors can be removed surgically by removing the affected liver lobe. Not that long ago, I removed a large tumor on a friend's dog that was causing fluid in the abdomen and also the mass / cyst contained approximately 750ml of fluid! The dog is doing great and the prognosis is very good as the tumor was benign. Some outcomes are favorable and others are unfavorable. It would be best to seek further testing to help get a better grasp on what the prognosis will be for his dog. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions / concerns and I would be happy to help you further.

My question is does Boyboy have fluid in his abdomen? If he does my concern is if you continue to keep performing the abdominocentesis that is a lot for him. If I have a client that has a dog with fluid in their belly I will do the belly tap once and then we talk about the quality of life. If he needs it again in 3 months ok let's do it again. If he needs it again in 1 week we need to talk about how happy Boyboy is actually feeling. WIthout all the information it is difficult to guide someone with this because we want to make sure that Boyboy does have a great life all the way to the end. If you would like us to review the blood test and x-rays we can always do that if you would like to request a consultation so we can discuss further. If finances are an issue make sure you discuss this with your vet. Veterinarians are very compassionate people and we will make sure the next step is in the best interest of Boyboy and do our best to do what we can within your means. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Poor Rocky! It sounds like he is in both right and left sided heart failure. With right-sided heart failure fluid builds up in the abdomen. In some cases we could actually remove this fluid through inserting a needle in the abdomen under the guidance of an ultrasound. Your veterinarian may be able to do this for you and I would discuss this with them. While we know that the fluid will build back up it often provides comfort/relief to the animal. I recommend calling your veterinarian to discuss what can be done to make sure Rocky is comfortable as the fluid is not getting resorbed on its own.

I am so sorry that your pet is in heart failure. Fluid build up in the abdomen is not a good sign. She needs to see a veterinarian asap to have the fluid drained from her belly first. Then she can potentially go on an additional medication to help manage her heart disease. I would recommend discussing with your vet about placing her on Vetmedin (Pimobendan) which will help her heart pump more effectively. However if you cannot reasonably have the procedure done to drain the fluid (abdominocentesis) then pain medication can be prescribed by your vet to help make her comfortable until you know its time to let her go. Again I am so sorry that your pet is so very ill and I wish you all the best.

I am so sorry to hear that Boxer isn’t doing well. Removing fluid can potentially cause shock, but it is not a common occurrence. As long as fluid is removed slowly and aim to removed 50% or so then the likelihood of shock is slim. Do you know what his albumin level is? If it is normal (not low), and his heart is functioning normally, and he is negative for heart worm disease then I would be very concerned about cancer. When fluid is drained some should be sent to the lab for analysis to help confirm or Rule out signs of cancer. Best of luck and I hope he improves soon. Thank you for using Pet Coach.

These decisions are certainly not easy to make and I'm sorry that you and Pepper are going through this. While I can't examine Pepper to speak to his current state of respiratory distress or discomfort, anytime ascites and respiratory changes consistent with heart failure are present, the animal is generally uncomfortable. With heart failure, animals accumulate fluid in and around the lungs and do not appropriately perfuse oxygenated blood, causing a weakened state with difficulty breathing. In cases of heart failure, I would recommend either trying appropriate diuretics and other medications (possibly enalapril/benazapril and pimobendan, as indicated) or euthanizing. Without reducing the fluid in the chest and improving heart contractility to allow for better oxygenation, animals have a diminished quality of life. Closely monitor Pepper for more effort in his breathing, coughing, inappetance and lethargy. I'm sorry you're going through this and I hope this helps.

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sorry to hear about Kane. Fluid in a body cavity could be blood, body fluid, pus from an infection, lymphatic fluid (chyle). Probably not blood since you said the bloodwork was normal. If bleeding occurred Kane would most likely have a lower than normal red blood cell count. Possible causes include liver disease, heart failure, heart base tumor, low protein levels in the blood secondary to liver disease or protein loss into the intestinal tract or through the kidneys (kidney disease), tumor, pancreatitis, leaking of urine from the urinary system, bile leakage, intestinal perforation (hole in the intestinal tract), foreign body, among a few other causes. Your vet can perform an abdominocentesis (stick a needle into the abdomen) and collect some of the fluid and have it analyzed and cultured if needed. Once a diagnosis is made a treatment plan can be put into place. An echocardiogram of the heart may be needed to evaluate the heart for a problem or tumor. I wish you the best of luck with Kane.