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Hello all,
I have posted a couple of times, my hubbie is a regular bike forum poster. I was really after some advice as we are both very upset and not sure where to turn to.
We have a gorgeous 3 year old labradoodle, who is an adorable (if greedy!) fellow- he got what we thought (and the vet thought) was kennel cough 3-4 weeks ago and we were told it would take some time to resolve. Over the last 3-4 weeks his cough had got better but his exercise tolerance was reducing. He was still eating and drinking normally and so last week we left him with my parents when we went on holiday. My mum and dad were a little concerned about him as he seemed subdued but yesterday he was refusing to eat or walk and was unable to lie down as he was having so much difficulty breathing. He was taken to the vets who drained 3 litres of fatty fluid (chyle) off his right lung area. Apparently he was so unwell they were not sure he was going to pull through. The post drainage x ray showed no obvious lung tumor, but we have been told this is a possible cause for the fluid (he has no signs of any heart problems).
He has been referred to the specialist centre in surrey for further tests and possibly an operation to tie off his thoracic duct- but we have been reading on the Internet that the success rate for this is extremely low and is major chest surgery.
We are all so upset that he has had to go through this when we are not there to comfort him, but also not sure as to what happens next. There are so many horror stories on the Internet about dogs dying before/after the surgery very suddenly and we are so scared this might happen.
Any vets here who could comment or indeed anyone who has experience of this condition as it appears to be quite rare.
Thanks for your time
No experience of this myself, but after a quick google all I can offer is my best wishes
i hope your dog gets well soon (sorry i have nothing constructive to add).
My son was born with a chylothorax. Needed a chest drain every 4 days.It was very bad.It got to the point that we told the doctors that if the worst happened they should take whatever they could use. However chyle can be controlled through diet. What really made a difference was the (experimental) use of a drug called octreotide. Within a weeks use he had gone from near death to going home. It was a stunning transformation. The consultant was delighted with the results but pointed out that we will never know whether it was the drug or his own body being given a chance to heal from the reduced chyle production from the special milk replacement diet.
Thank you hoodoo, am so glad your son is better now... Will talk to the vet about octreotide.
I hope it works. Maybe an update in a few weeks?
Not that this is something for your dog to drink but the formula was called monogen.
http://www.nutricia-na.com/pages/monogen.html
The important thing is that it is low in fat and high in medium chain triglycerides. Maybe suitable foods can be found. A number of things can cause chylothorax. It's possible that bad coughing may have exposed a weakness.
I am not a medic. I am relating this so you can ask questions.
Good luck.
Not a condition commonly found in dogs and as such is poorly researched. There have been some improvements with surgery beyond ligating the thoracic duct and less invasive techniques such as thoracoscopy (keyhole) can be utilised in some cases.
Still a very concerning condition and I hope you get a good outcome. Sounds like you have done the right thing by heading to the specialist centre as this is not something your normal vet will see regularly.
Good luck.
Thank you all for your advice and/or kind wishes- he is back with my parents now, and we get back to the UK next week. He is apparently a bit subdued but his breathing is easier. I am not looking forward to the difficult decisions we will have to make in the next few weeks