Dog with liver shunt has recurring swollen belly. Is it liver failure?

With a liver shunt the puppy will not thrive and eventually will die, especially since he already has severe clinical signs of illness. The liver is the main detoxification organ of the body and when it does not work properly the body slowly poisons itself and will die. So surgery is highly recommended provided there is not already serious damage. I am sorry, that the news is not so good.

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.

This sounds like Coco may now have acquired portosystemic shunts. These shunts form to bypass the liver when blood pressure through the liver becomes too high. Unfortunately these shunts cannot be surgically corrected and managing symptoms with medications is the only treatment option. I'm so sorry about Coco's diagnosis. Hopefully you can get some guidance from her veterinarians about what to expect.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Holly! I would consider doing a bile acid test if her ALT is still elevated at the recheck. That can help with the diagnosis of a liver shunt. Yes, dogs can live a relatively normal life if the symptoms of the liver shunt can be managed with diet, antibiotics and laxatives. That is if she is even experiencing hepatic encephalopathy signs. I hope this help and I wish Holly the very best!

I'm sorry to hear that! It really depends on the severity of the shunt and what kinds of symptoms she's showing, so this would be a good question to discuss with your veterinarian - but in general, surgery is strongly recommended for dogs with liver shunts who are having neurologic symptoms. Medication and diet are usually not sufficient to control their symptoms without surgery.

You do need more testing to find out what is going on. It can be fluid build up but you need blood work and an ultrasound to see if the fluid is leaking from the intestines or liver congestion secondary from heart disease. sometimes a diet change can help or the fluid may need to be drained to have it evaluated for cells. Without a diagnosis and more testing it is hard to help you further

They could have it or not. Liver shunt can have a congenital origin. I would strongly recommend to check all of them at your local vets. Abdominal ultrasound and specific blood tests are very sensitive way to diagnose this disease.