Elijah's gallbladder surgery is 8/7

Piper's mom said:
Thing that bugs me is I’m having to PUSH her to do it. I hope that through this I will help to educate her on the importance of ultrasounds and gallbladder disease in Shelties.
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You're not alone, Lisa. I had to educate my vet years ago on GBM after someone I knew lost a dog to it on the operating table. Now he recommends ultrasounds to all his Sheltie patients. I printed out the info on Shelties and gallbladders and took it to him. I'm very lucky in that he was receptive and made sure all the vets in his practice knew it too. If that might help with yours, here's the link to the ASSA information about it and the recommendation for ultrasounds for the breed.
 
Just got back from dropping him off - the drive back was heavy traffic. They just called and are starting the surgery, he was intubated and doing fine under anesthesia so far. They will call when he's done. Yes the waiting is the killer but everyone there just doted on Elijah when we brought him in, and they are incredibly competent, from front desk all the way up to the vets. So impressed.

Also, VERY lucky my primary vet is super receptive to input from me particular to Shelties. After she did his original ultrasound she did a deep dive into Shelties and gallbladders and became quite alarmed. They just don't see that many Shelties, period. But she told me she'd make sure all the vets in the practice were up to speed.
 
Ann said:
You're not alone, Lisa. I had to educate my vet years ago on GBM after someone I knew lost a dog to it on the operating table. Now he recommends ultrasounds to all his Sheltie patients. I printed out the info on Shelties and gallbladders and took it to him. I'm very lucky in that he was receptive and made sure all the vets in his practice knew it too. If that might help with yours, here's the link to the ASSA information about it and the recommendation for ultrasounds for the breed.
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Thanks for that Ann. I’ll print it out and give it to her. She’s an awesome vet but lacking in breed specific issues I find.
 
OMG a 1 1/2 - 2 hour laparascopic surgery turned into a 4 1/2 hour open surgery. As they were dissecting out the gallbladder the bile duct started tearing and kept going. Long story short, I called after 3 1/2 hours because I started getting worried and was told he was still in surgery and it was complex. S**t! They called another hour later while my hubby and I were fearing the worst, and said he was done and waking up. All 3 board certified surgeons ended up working on him to make sure everything got sewn up and done right. She said his duct tissue was extremely fragile. But he was completely stable under anesthesia, blood pressure etc just fine.

I asked how the GB itself looked, and she said it was big and full, and getting bigger. Said it would definitely have ruptured in a couple of months. OMG. Almost no symptoms. She said it was really big in proportion to his liver. Holy cow. If it had not been for Sheltie Nation forums, I would NOT have known about this, and Elijah would have likely died, at only 7 years old. To say I am grateful for this site is an understatement. The recovery nurse just called and said he was doing fine, all vital signs great and breathing well on his own. Good pain meds on board. He will for sure stay the 2 nights now. I am a wreck; nerves are shot. But so, so grateful he made it through.

If I had listened to the IM vet and just kept up with meds and scanning, he would also have ruptured.
 
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