Im wondering if anyone has any info? our DDB (1 year old) has just been diagnosed with a liver shunt, he has been placed on a diet and antibiotics for  the next three weeks and then we will go back up to the Animal hospital in Cambridge, my question is the vet has asked us to think about if we want to put our dog through the operation or not, its up to us, as they have very little research to help, if he has the op there is of course a risk he wont make it, but without it, he will have to remain on a diet and drugs for the rest of his life! I know we are the only ones who can make this very hard decision, I am not asking for any one to do this for me, and we have seen the best vets possible, what I was wondering was is there anyone how also has a dog who has had this same problem, is there anyone out their who can tell us how their dog has been since the op, or did you opt for the diet, and how has that been? I know this is a long shot as this is not a common problem, but i just want to make this decison, armed with as much research and info as poss, any comments would be helpful, thanks Jenny

Hi bobanddug,

So sorry to hear that your dog has this problem, did a quick web search and found this site which explains everything really well, hopefully it will help you to make a decision, but you don't have to make that decision today, so relax a bit and just see how he responds to the diet in the next three weeks, hopefully by then you'll have replies from someone who's had experience of this.

sorry its an american site but it is very informative and clear.

http://www.vet.utk.edu/clinical/sacs/shunt/faq.shtml

thank you , I will have a good look at this site , thanks again

You're welcome bob, hope he responds well to the diet and is soon feeling better.

Boy do I know what you are going through.  I have 2 dogs, one of which is now just under two and from the age of about 6 months he had continuous bouts of vomitting and diahrrea.  We lived in the States at the time and the vet was quite useless there.  When we moved back to the UK with our dog, the new vet gave him various tests including the bile acid test.  His result was through the roof and we were also told to expect a liver shunt and referred to a specialist near Cambridge.  After ultrasound, they couldn't find a shunt and instead want us to have him opened up for a liver biopsy.  To cut a very long story short, after much research we have decided not go opt for an operation as we can't be sure what is wrong with him.  Our dog had 3 bile acid tests in the end and all 3 were inconsistent - one was even within the 'normal' range - which has made me suspicious of a shunt.  If your dog definitely has a shunt and it has been found via ultrasound there are many pros and cons for the operation.  Are they planning to use an ameroid constrictor?  Of course also, where the liver is concerned there are potential dangers with any operation if the blood isn't clotting properly.  Also the anasthetic needs to be carefully monitored and should be done by an experienced anthesiatist.  I have listed below a number of websites I found that had useful information on liver shunts and allowed me to try and make the decision myself.  I am sure you will make the right decision whatever you decide and would love to hear how it goes.

http://www.yorkierescue.com/livershunt/liverwhatis.html
http://www.cornovi-iw.co.uk/liverhuntpage.htm
http://www.vetinfo.com/dogindex.html
http://www.tsfannymaelivershunt.com
http://web.utk.edu/~vetmed/clinical/sacs/shunt/tobias.pdf#search='Hepatic%20Microvascular%20Dysplasia%20in%20dogs'