QUESTION:
I have a male poodle 20 months old. In June he started vomiting and our veterinarian suspected that he was poisoned ( we couldn’t realize how since he didn’t take anything as far as we could see). His liver enzymes were high and he was treated with antibiotics and amilaza. After few weeks of treatment his blood results went to normal. On August 15, he started vomiting again and his ALT was high. He is on hepatic food since than and his sugar level is low. We live in Skopje and since we do not have specialist for this kind of liver problem, we would like to come to your clinic. Please inform me if you have color dopler ultrasound and a specialist who could diagnose what is the problem with his liver.
ANSWER:
While we do have a doppler ultrasound, I imagine you were told to do a proper liver ultrasound to check for portosystemic shunts and other vascular liver issues? We usually diagnose those via CT-scan, as it is far supperior as an imaging technique and gives us more information. We would also reccomend a proper in depth ultrasound, a full bloodwork and a test called ”bile acid stimulation test” which, if positive, is very indicative of portosystemic shunts – these are rather common in young, small breed dogs and if they cause clinical issues, should be investigated further. If you decide on a consult you can contact us at +386 1 200 51 80. Aleksandra Slapšak, dvm