Shiba Inu's question about Thoracic Duct Ligation

Question

Hello, my dog is suffering from pleural effusion specifically chylothorax. This started in November of this year, he got tapped then the vet recommended low fat prescription diet food and Rutin 3 times a day. He was doing great until recently where he had fluid tapped a week ago and now it looks like he is having breathing complications again. My vets are doing great but I think they are not very confident on there knowledge of this disorder and being very vague with me on what could be the cause and what other treatments can be used. I am obviously new to this and have done some research but even so, I feel lost. I really want to help my dog and not have him constantly going under. This is scaring me and I would like to ask around for opinions of other vets. Do you think surgery would be beneficial for my dog? Is it too new to tell? What are other things I should be considering?

I also am considering medical insurance since this will get costly. A lot of pet insurance don’t cover “pre-existing conditions”. I was wondering if what my dog has is pre-existing or considered congenital as I read shiba’s are predisposed to this condition. Please email me at kaholmes@baypath.edu.

Thank you,
Kaitlynn Holmes

Accepted Answer

I'm sorry that this is happening to Meeko.  Chylothorax can be a difficult condition to manage, and he may need to see a specialist to have further diagnostics and try to figure out the cause of the problem so that you can resolve it.  Unfortunately, this would be a pre-existing condition, as he is being treated for it.  I hope that you are able to get to the bottom of this problem and resolve it.

Thoracic Duct Ligation in Dogs