Shetland Sheepdogs are the poster child for Gallbladder Disease!

That is of course a sad photo, but likely she is still feeling the effects of the anesthesia. Keep the faith Gloria, you caught Beau's condition at a young age and he is healthy and should come through without issues. But I understand how you must be worried. Let us know how the second ultrasound goes.
 
Sharon7 said:
That is of course a sad photo, but likely she is still feeling the effects of the anesthesia. Keep the faith Gloria, you caught Beau's condition at a young age and he is healthy and should come through without issues. But I understand how you must be worried. Let us know how the second ultrasound goes.
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Thanks, Sharon! None of us want our babies to hurt! Not for a moment…
 
Ann said:
Gloria, you know that I've had more experience with gallbladder mucoceles than anyone wants. If I've learned anything after two surgeries and another one in treatment for GB, it's the importance of scanning every single Sheltie by the age of 6.

You were so smart to have Beau checked now, when he can have the surgery before he's in crisis and the odds of survival in surgery are slim. The odds of survival and successful recovery for gallbladder removal before the GB ruptures are far higher, and it's so much easier on the dog...and your checkbook. The cost of surgery nearly doubles when the dog is an emergency, although it's expensive enough even if they aren't.

As I've said in other threads, Lacey had her gallbladder removed at age 9 after numerous scans indicating sludge in her GB was increasing. She had no symptoms. Checkers had hers removed at 11, for the same reason, also no symptoms. They both recovered in days, came out bright and lively, and eat a totally normal diet. I'm praying the same will be true for Beau. He's young and healthy, and will do just fine, and you'll have many more years with him.
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I think I'm going to scan Minnie at age 6 for this, and Angus when he's this age. I'll always have an equity line of credit for the dogs, lol.
 
Della will get her gallbladder out in the coming months. She only has low grade sludge atm. Tully's Medicine Specialist did the ultrasound - he said many general vets will not notice that amount of sludge or will do a 'watch and wait' (which is what we originally did with Tully). His view was that too many dogs have lost their lives by not acting early enough, and in a breed known for GBM and ruptures it is not worth the risk. Interestingly, Della's son has GBM now and the breeder is doing a 'watch and wait'.

Tully had her gallbladder out when she was 13/14 yrs and it was tough. I really feel for Cricket because she looks in a lot of pain.

Thank you for posting those screen shots, it was incredibly helpful. We've lost so Sheltie friends to GBM in the last couple of months. It's very scary and I do wonder if the Advantage/Seresto products have something to do with it as they were all Sydney/Coast based dogs where preventative treatment is higher due to paralysis ticks.
 
I listen to the podcast and it was very interesting. Seems like years ago gallbladder disease was not as common as it is today and the doctor is suspicious that it is somehow environmental. I found it VERY interesting that the fist video I posted on this thread which was done recently sited a direct correlation to Flea and Tick medication!
So glad Cricket is home…
 
Gloria, I am SO THANKFUL you had that first ultrasound done! You are saving Beau's life, literally. I hope you found a surgeon you are confident with. I hope he has a completely uneventful surgery and quick recovery, and there is no reason to think he won't. Big hugs to you both. I am going to schedule Faith for another scan when she sees her vet in November.
 
Sharon7 said:
Gloria, I am SO THANKFUL you had that first ultrasound done! You are saving Beau's life, literally. I hope you found a surgeon you are confident with. I hope he has a completely uneventful surgery and quick recovery, and there is no reason to think he won't. Big hugs to you both. I am going to schedule Faith for another scan when she sees her vet in November.
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Yes, indeed! I did research on the surgeon as Ann recommended that I do as it is such an invasive surgery. She was kind enough to get back to me after I reached out to her...

"Gallbladder surgery is fairly common in dogs, especially Shelties. In my experience with mucoceles (mucous plugs in the gallbladder, the most common reason for a cholecystectomy), surgery, anesthesia, and recovery all go much better if the patients are otherwise relatively healthy. By this I mean everything goes better if we perform surgery while the patient is relatively unaffected, rather than after the gallbladder ruptures. If the gallbladder ruptures, these are critical, emergency surgeries and these patients often have more complications like low blood pressure, blood clots, and inflammation within the abdomen. Once the gallbladder has ruptured, the surgery also becomes more technically complicated."

“I have done many of these surgeries over the past 10 years in practice, and am very meticulous when it comes to the dissection. I don't have a specific total number of cases for you, but I have typically done ~20-30 a year. We are also extremely cautious regarding anesthesia for these patients, and have the same monitoring as a human patient would have in a hospital for this procedure.”
 
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