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Some good thoughts for Rhaegar (and me!) please

sjdavenport

Well-Known Member
Rhaegar has some surgical procedures coming up on Thursday, and I am beside myself with panic (some irrational, some rational). He has had several bloat scares, most recently when he was in the hospital for a couple hours for sedated radiographs (of his chest and a stifle). He gets very anxious while in the hospital, even with pharmaceuticals on board. He has chronic GI issues, and I have spent many nights sitting up with him, watching him, worrying that he was in the early stages of bloat, including one 4 AM trip to the emergency clinic. So he absolutely needs a gastropexy, or it's just a matter of time before he develops full blown GDV. His internal medicine doc also recommended stomach and intestinal biopsies (for his chronic GI problems) and a liver biopsy (chronic liver value elevation) since we'll already be in his abdomen, AND bronchoscopy for a cough that I've unsuccessfully treated for the past three months. We've done every non-invasive testing imaginable with no answers. So we're talking major surgery, and a rather long period of anesthesia. Not to mention he's not a fan of strangers and is incredibly stressed in the hospital. I'm very much overprotective of him, and really haven't allowed anyone else to handle him, so I'm really worried about how he's going to handle strangers restraining/poking him/etc, especially post-op when he will be painful. I've spent the last week conditioning him to wear his baskerville muzzle and soft e-collar so hopefully that's one less traumatic thing for everyone involved.

And oh yeah, one reason I'm finally doing the gastropexy (I've know that he really needed one for a while) is that he will likely be needing a TPLO for a blown cruciate once he's done recovering from all of this. I was too afraid that he'd develop bloat stressing out while he was in the hospital for his TPLO.

So help! I'm a nervous wreck!!! Please, please, PLEASE send some good thoughts our way on Thursday please! Every time I think about surgery day, I start to feel physically ill. If anything happens to him so soon after losing my Mazey, I will be devastated. I adore this grouch, and even though we have Dany now, he's still my baby. It really hurts me to see him anxious or in pain. It's going to be a rough couple of months.

Side note - I am a veterinarian, but when it comes to my own dogs, I am just another scared, anxious pet owner. And I don't do surgeries on my own guys. Rhaegar will be in the hands of a board certified surgeon and internal medicine specialist.

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Boxergirl

Well-Known Member
Of course you will have all of my thoughts and good vibes on Thursday. Please let us know the second he's awake. Many hugs for you and Rhaegar.
 

TylerDurden

Well-Known Member
All the best and good luck! I guess being a vet yourself in this situation is good and bad. You know much more about the ideal outcome, potentials risks, and the surgery in general, which is good and bad at the same time. Let us know how it goes.
 

glen

Super Moderator
Staff member
Il certainly have you and rhaegar in my thoughts and prayers , please let us know how he is and yourself, i can remember when he was a pup hes a handsome boy, give him a big hug from me
 

DennasMom

Well-Known Member
Loads of positive vibes headed your way from Denna and Me!

Hope you get some good results from all the poking around!!
 

Bailey's Mom

Super Moderator
Super Moderator
Blessings on you and Rhaegar. Be brave, you are doing the right thing to protect your boy. We all realize that it is happening so soon after losing Mazey, and you can't but feel anxious and afraid. Everyone here knows exactly how you are feeling, we'd be feeling it and even more because we wouldn't understand everything that was going on. I'm sending Mastiff-sized cyber hugs to you and Rhaegar, and I'm sending up a prayer to the Boss that you have a good outcome and a speedy recovery.
 

Nik

Well-Known Member
You and Rhaegar will be on my mind all week. After losing Cerberus to bloat it is my greatest fear. I pray that all goes well in the surgery and with the biopsy as well and that this brings you a little more long term peace of mind. <3 <3

Please keep us updated we, your extended pack, will be waiting anxiously.
 

sjdavenport

Well-Known Member
Thanks so much everyone! I think that's part of the problem; I just know too much about what could go wrong. I get more and more nervous with every hour that passesand puts us closer to surgery day.

Here he is learning to be calm with his e- collar. My little flower.
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Pastor Dave

Well-Known Member
I am praying that you and your dog are "back in the pink" soon. Jesus died for all of creation, your Rhaegar included. Miracles come from heaven, for sure. Thanks for asking.
 

sjdavenport

Well-Known Member
Not yet. They were supposed to be getting started about 2 hours ago. Still waiting anxiously to hear something.
 

sjdavenport

Well-Known Member
Finally heard from the surgeon. He is waking up and the surgery went well. Still waiting to hear from the internist about how the bronchoscopy looked. They're keeping him for iv pain meds overnight, and I'll be picking him up at 9 tomorrow morning. We're staying in a hotel right down the street rather than making the drive home.
 

sjdavenport

Well-Known Member
Finally headed home. Poor guy. They said he did well overnight, was very tolerant of all their handling. The bronchoscopy showed increased mucus production and found nodules consistent with chronic inflammation. Now we wait on the biopsy and culture results.

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Boxergirl

Well-Known Member
I hope you all had a good and restful night. Please let us know when the biopsy and culture results come in.
 

sjdavenport

Well-Known Member
It's been a very long week. He was really painful the first 4 or 5 days, and we haven't gotten much sleep since the surgery. But he's had a fantastic appetite and the incision looks good. He's definitely been much more comfortable the past couple days. We got our results - cultures all negative for pathogens. Here are the biopsy results:
1. Stomach: Gastritis, lymphonodular, chronic, mild with low numbers of superficial spiral bacteria.
2. Proximal and distal jejunum: Jejunitis, lymphoplasmacytic and eosinophilic, chronic–active,
moderate.
3. Liver: Periportal fibrosis and inflammation, bridging, lymphohistiocytic, chronic-active, moderate,
with micronodular regeneration and lipogranuloma formation.
This patient has chronic and mild lymphonodular gastritis that may be associated with spiral bacterias
or other nonspecific antigenic stimulation. Generalized jejunitis is consistent with possible
hypersensitivity response and possible food or other atopic allergens should be considered. An
incisional specimen of liver does have significant periportal inflammation and fibroplasia with
micronodular regeneration, suggestive of possible bouts of ascending cholangitis. Active idiopathic
cholangiohepatitis is not identified in the specimen submitted. Additionally, possible toxic insults
should also be considered.

So essentially the chronic GI problem is inflammatory bowel disease with food sensitivity likely playing a role, and the liver disease is probably secondary to the IBD. His cough is most likely chronic bronchitis without an infectious component. The internist's recommendation was just steroids and a hydrolyzed diet trial (easier said than done). He'll not be getting oral steroids or any other immune suppressing drugs with his knee surgery coming up, so I'll be exploring all our other options first. And I will probably try inhaled steroids for his chronic bronchitis in the meantime. So it was not the best news or the worst news either - neither problem is curable, but hopefully manageable.