dessertpigs
New Born Pup
Hi Everyone,
I'm posting to share my experience. Our nearly 5 year old rescue sow has recently had a liver biopsy.
8 months ago, Misu was admitted with squeeky wees, ultrasound found bladder sludge (which she's on regular cystease and lower calcium diet to manage). Incidentally, her bloods showed anaemia due to chronic disease and elevated liver enzymes. Her ultrasound didn't show any abnormalities of her liver- it looked smooth. We've repeat the bloods twice 6 months ago and this month, with the most recent bloods much worse. Since then she has been happy in herself- but has had a steady weight loss of around 70grams in the 8 months, and sleeps a lot (it's hard to say if she sleeps more than this time last year).
With the recent worsened bloods, our exotic vet advised for a endoscopic liver biopsy under general anaesthetic (cost with rounding to £550). There was no guarantee that the liver biopsy would provide any new information- as the liver may look normal, and any samples taken may not be representative of the underlying problem- but it may show something that could slow progress of the disease, or reverse it. As Misu is relatively well in herself, has a good quality of life and has previously recovered well from anaesthetics, we thought the risks were worth the benefits in her case.
During the endoscopy, there was something to see on Misu's liver- a section was grey and gnarly. Overall the rest of the liver was a normal colour, a little larger than usual and in some places bumpy. The grey part of the liver was immediately behind her stomach. As stomach's are full of air, so don't conduct the sonic waves, this is unlikely to have been seen on a repeat ultrasound.
There were gnarly liver samples have been sent for histology and cultures, which we are waiting on the results for- which I'll share on this post.
Misu was stable throughout her op. She ate after the anaesthetic, but was a bit drowsy that evening. She had very clicky breathing, which resolved over the next 24 hours. She is on a good dose of metacam until her results are back. We gave her some supplemental feeding for the first 2 days, but she quickly communicated it wasn't needed. Her daily weights are stable, and she's back to her usual sassy self, zooming about at veg time. If anything, her neutered boar-friend acted more distressed by the journey than her- he really hates being in a car.
We don't know what her results will show- but we are glad that we are arranged these tests before she is more unwell in herself as she has had a quick recovery following the anaethetic. We're fortunate to have an experienced exotics team guiding her care.
I know in humans grey livers are usually cirhottic- so not reservable liver damage- but there were sections of her liver a more normal colour. Regardless of whether we have a curative or palliative treatment or no treatment, we'll hopefully have better information to guide our piggies care. We'll wait, see and later update.
I'd like to thank the forum admins- we wouldn't be with our current vets, or have weighed Misu this regularly without the work you put into your guides. Thank you!
I'm posting to share my experience. Our nearly 5 year old rescue sow has recently had a liver biopsy.
8 months ago, Misu was admitted with squeeky wees, ultrasound found bladder sludge (which she's on regular cystease and lower calcium diet to manage). Incidentally, her bloods showed anaemia due to chronic disease and elevated liver enzymes. Her ultrasound didn't show any abnormalities of her liver- it looked smooth. We've repeat the bloods twice 6 months ago and this month, with the most recent bloods much worse. Since then she has been happy in herself- but has had a steady weight loss of around 70grams in the 8 months, and sleeps a lot (it's hard to say if she sleeps more than this time last year).
With the recent worsened bloods, our exotic vet advised for a endoscopic liver biopsy under general anaesthetic (cost with rounding to £550). There was no guarantee that the liver biopsy would provide any new information- as the liver may look normal, and any samples taken may not be representative of the underlying problem- but it may show something that could slow progress of the disease, or reverse it. As Misu is relatively well in herself, has a good quality of life and has previously recovered well from anaesthetics, we thought the risks were worth the benefits in her case.
During the endoscopy, there was something to see on Misu's liver- a section was grey and gnarly. Overall the rest of the liver was a normal colour, a little larger than usual and in some places bumpy. The grey part of the liver was immediately behind her stomach. As stomach's are full of air, so don't conduct the sonic waves, this is unlikely to have been seen on a repeat ultrasound.
There were gnarly liver samples have been sent for histology and cultures, which we are waiting on the results for- which I'll share on this post.
Misu was stable throughout her op. She ate after the anaesthetic, but was a bit drowsy that evening. She had very clicky breathing, which resolved over the next 24 hours. She is on a good dose of metacam until her results are back. We gave her some supplemental feeding for the first 2 days, but she quickly communicated it wasn't needed. Her daily weights are stable, and she's back to her usual sassy self, zooming about at veg time. If anything, her neutered boar-friend acted more distressed by the journey than her- he really hates being in a car.
We don't know what her results will show- but we are glad that we are arranged these tests before she is more unwell in herself as she has had a quick recovery following the anaethetic. We're fortunate to have an experienced exotics team guiding her care.
I know in humans grey livers are usually cirhottic- so not reservable liver damage- but there were sections of her liver a more normal colour. Regardless of whether we have a curative or palliative treatment or no treatment, we'll hopefully have better information to guide our piggies care. We'll wait, see and later update.
I'd like to thank the forum admins- we wouldn't be with our current vets, or have weighed Misu this regularly without the work you put into your guides. Thank you!
