*UPDATE* Hemi may have megesophagus
*UPDATE* 11/22/11: Well yesterday was the day my heart broke. The surgeon felt Hemi's case was too severe. Surgery to remove the band around the esophagus, being in the realm of $5,000, still had an uncertain prognosis. He was already not able to eat as much food as he needed and was losing weight. Our breeder made the difficult decision to put Hemi to sleep this past weekend. He was home with us for a mere 2 days but our bond with him was incredibly strong. We had been visiting him since he was two weeks old. He was supposed to be our baby, our dog- our Hemi boy. We are beyond devastated. Thank you to everyone who prayed and thought positive thoughts.
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*UPDATE* Hemi had his barium x-rays done today and the results were worse than what I expected. He has a Persistent Right Aortic Arch. The fetal blood vessels that should have disappeared as he grew did not and now they have formed a band constricting the esophagus. He has moderate megaesophagus due to the constriction. Surgery may be possible but the outcome is uncertain. The esophagus could return to normal size and regain function or it could stay enlarged. If surgery is not possible most likely as he grows, the band will not and it will continue to constrict the esophagus. He will ultimately be unable to eat any food or drink any water. The breeder will talk with the surgeon on Tuesday to see if surgery can be peformed and if it can, what the cost and outcome will be. Otherwise...he will be put to sleep. To say I'm devastated is an understatement. I can't believe this is happening :frown:
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I'm so bummed and rather confused now :frown: When Hemi turned 6 weeks his breeder started feeding the pups softened kibble rather than kibble "gruel." He would occasionally regurgitate and our breeder thought he was simply eating too fast. At 7 weeks she started feeding him separately hoping it would slow his eating down however he was still regurgitating.
On the advice of some fellow breeders, she began blending the kibble to a slurry type consistency and feeding him from an elevated feeder which he did absolutely wonderful with. At this point no one suspected megaesophagus yet as he wasn't regurgitating after every meal, was the largest in the litter up until last week, and his energy level and body condition were great. It wasn't until the night we picked him up that megaesophagus had been mentioned by another breeder friend of hers. That same day the pups were being vaccinated and she mentioned the possibility of megaesophagus to the vet who explained it was fairly uncommon and not to worry. She sent us home with some instructions on how to blend the kibble properly and we went on our way.
We had planned on switching him to raw immediately and we too believed that his regurgitation of the kibble was due to eating too fast. We for sure thought that once he started taking his time with food that the regurgitation would vanish. Unfortunately the second day home he regurgitated his chicken back no more than a minute or two after he had finished it. He did the same with his second chicken back later in the afternoon and I immediately began doing some research on megaesophagus. It definitely sounded like Hemi and after a call to our breeder, she agreed to take him back so that a diagnosis could be made.
He visited the vet on Monday and was given soaked kibble rather than a slurry and was fed off of the ground rather than in the elevated feeder. An x-ray was taken immediately after he finished and there were no signs of dilation in the esophagus or any type of "pouch" at the bottom. The kibble was clearly in his stomach. He never regurgitated the food and has been fine since. He will have a barium x-ray on Friday to definitively rule out megaesophagus.
To any of the vet techs here: does this still sound like megaesophagus even with the positive results on Monday?? This is so disappointing for us as we were prepared to feed him raw and now that may never happen. If he does have mega-e, the only way he will be able to eat raw is if it is ground which removes so many of the benefits. Not to mention my whole freezer full of raw food that would go to waste.... Regardless of whether or not he has mega-e, we still want him back. I've done a ton of research on the condition and we're fully prepared to handle it. We're just so bummed by the whole thing :frown:
*UPDATE* 11/22/11: Well yesterday was the day my heart broke. The surgeon felt Hemi's case was too severe. Surgery to remove the band around the esophagus, being in the realm of $5,000, still had an uncertain prognosis. He was already not able to eat as much food as he needed and was losing weight. Our breeder made the difficult decision to put Hemi to sleep this past weekend. He was home with us for a mere 2 days but our bond with him was incredibly strong. We had been visiting him since he was two weeks old. He was supposed to be our baby, our dog- our Hemi boy. We are beyond devastated. Thank you to everyone who prayed and thought positive thoughts.
_______________________________________
*UPDATE* Hemi had his barium x-rays done today and the results were worse than what I expected. He has a Persistent Right Aortic Arch. The fetal blood vessels that should have disappeared as he grew did not and now they have formed a band constricting the esophagus. He has moderate megaesophagus due to the constriction. Surgery may be possible but the outcome is uncertain. The esophagus could return to normal size and regain function or it could stay enlarged. If surgery is not possible most likely as he grows, the band will not and it will continue to constrict the esophagus. He will ultimately be unable to eat any food or drink any water. The breeder will talk with the surgeon on Tuesday to see if surgery can be peformed and if it can, what the cost and outcome will be. Otherwise...he will be put to sleep. To say I'm devastated is an understatement. I can't believe this is happening :frown:
_______________________________________
I'm so bummed and rather confused now :frown: When Hemi turned 6 weeks his breeder started feeding the pups softened kibble rather than kibble "gruel." He would occasionally regurgitate and our breeder thought he was simply eating too fast. At 7 weeks she started feeding him separately hoping it would slow his eating down however he was still regurgitating.
On the advice of some fellow breeders, she began blending the kibble to a slurry type consistency and feeding him from an elevated feeder which he did absolutely wonderful with. At this point no one suspected megaesophagus yet as he wasn't regurgitating after every meal, was the largest in the litter up until last week, and his energy level and body condition were great. It wasn't until the night we picked him up that megaesophagus had been mentioned by another breeder friend of hers. That same day the pups were being vaccinated and she mentioned the possibility of megaesophagus to the vet who explained it was fairly uncommon and not to worry. She sent us home with some instructions on how to blend the kibble properly and we went on our way.
We had planned on switching him to raw immediately and we too believed that his regurgitation of the kibble was due to eating too fast. We for sure thought that once he started taking his time with food that the regurgitation would vanish. Unfortunately the second day home he regurgitated his chicken back no more than a minute or two after he had finished it. He did the same with his second chicken back later in the afternoon and I immediately began doing some research on megaesophagus. It definitely sounded like Hemi and after a call to our breeder, she agreed to take him back so that a diagnosis could be made.
He visited the vet on Monday and was given soaked kibble rather than a slurry and was fed off of the ground rather than in the elevated feeder. An x-ray was taken immediately after he finished and there were no signs of dilation in the esophagus or any type of "pouch" at the bottom. The kibble was clearly in his stomach. He never regurgitated the food and has been fine since. He will have a barium x-ray on Friday to definitively rule out megaesophagus.
To any of the vet techs here: does this still sound like megaesophagus even with the positive results on Monday?? This is so disappointing for us as we were prepared to feed him raw and now that may never happen. If he does have mega-e, the only way he will be able to eat raw is if it is ground which removes so many of the benefits. Not to mention my whole freezer full of raw food that would go to waste.... Regardless of whether or not he has mega-e, we still want him back. I've done a ton of research on the condition and we're fully prepared to handle it. We're just so bummed by the whole thing :frown:
