My dog has severe HGE. Should I get a second opinion on his care?

Hi and thank you for you question on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I know it can be stressful to have your sweetie pie in the ICU and emergency care. My best advice is to be persistent with questions you have and make sure they get answered. ER and ICU vets are usually busy and preoccupied with their patients, but be sure to ask if you don't understand something explained or ask to have it explained again. I would want to understand why they think HGE occurred in Sancho, what they are currently doing and why, and what outlook does this have given Sancho's response to treatment? What are possible outcomes? For example they did a blood transfusion, I, as an owner would want to know why and what are the chances of this treatment being successful? What occurs if the transfusion is not successful? I hope this helps put your mind in the right direction. Thanks again for posting!

This sounds very serious. I recommend an exam with another veterinarian if you are unable to get a diagnosis and effective treatment. Murphy may need hospitalization until his condition improves. I agree this could become life threatening so I would bring him to a specialist for a second opinion soon. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Murphy.

I'm sorry to hear that Macey is going through this. Lethargy and pale gums certainly make me suspicious that she may have been bleeding into her abdomen for the past week. The most common causes of bleeding into the abdomen are due to cancer (hemangiosarcoma is most probably on the spleen and/or liver), a hematoma (essentially a bruise that ruptures), clotting disorders, or a benign mass (these are relatively uncommon). The only definitive way to differentiate between these issues is through a surgical biopsy of the affected organ, but abdominal ultrasound can certainly raise or lower suspicions of cancer. Unfortunately, without examining Macey and seeing a pathologist review of the aspirates, I can't offer a conclusive opinion as to whether or not she may have cancer. However, odds are good that cancer is likely since she was bleeding into her abdomen. If you are questioning your vet's conclusions, I would recommend seeking a second opinion from a vet at a practice with capability for abdominal ultrasound to provide more clarity. I hope this helps and I'm sorry that you're going this.

Hello. I am so sorry for the loss of your puppy. When such a young dog has such severe symptoms, survival is very unlikely. I do not know the basis for your decision - if it was an economic decision or something else, but hospitalization with aggressive fluid therapy would have been the only chance to save Sassy. Stomach medicine is a part of the therapy, but IV fluids are very important, & even with this, Sassy may not have survived. Vomiting blood is an unusual symptom of HGE, so it is possible something else was at work here, but none the less, it was severe. I am so sorry for your loss. Please accept my condolences.

Putting Frank down is a permanent decision. Before you do that you may want to consider a second opinion with a veterinary specialist. They may recommend blood work and do X-rays and an ultrasound so they can look at the pancreas and other organs. Also they could do an exploratory surgery to open his abdomen to see if it is cancer or maybe he ate something that has damaged his intestines. If they see what is wrong perhaps they can fix it. Frank is a young dog so having cancer is less likely than an intestinal problem or infection. If they find it can't be treated you can consider euthanasia at that point. Personally with my dog I like to understand the reason for the illness. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Frank.

I know it can be frustrating when the test we run do not always tell us an answer. In the picture her mammary glands are enlarged but this could be due to her being pregnant, having a false pregnancy or even infection in her uterus/ mammary glands. According to her blood work her white blood cells are elevated and she is anemic. I would make sure her uterus is healthy and she does not have any Gastrointestinal parasites. If she truly is 11 months old it is rare for a pyometra (pus filled uterus) to occur but she might of become pregnant/false pregnancy. I would recommend maybe taking her to another vet to get another opinion if she is feeling worse and seems to still be in pain.

I hate to hear this is happening. I recommend to have a frank discussion with your veterinarian about what they suspect is happening. Coco may need more diagnostics to determine the cause. Here is a link about Hepatic encephalopathy including the causes: https://www.merckvetmanual.com/digestive-system/hepatic-disease-in-small-animals/hepatic-encephalopathy-in-small-animals If this is due to a single large liver shunt, surgery may be an option. If this is not, medical management may help which includes a special diets, lactulose and medication life long. You may want to seek a second opinion as well if your vet does not seem up to date on current information. Thank you can make an informed decision. I hope this helps.