good morning!

We got some good news on Flash. We now know what the cause isn’t and what it is. Here is the report from the Vet:

Case Interpretation, Outcome, and Plan
Flash has a condition called chylothorax which is a build-up of fluid from the body's lymph system in the chest around the lungs and heart. This can occur for a number of reasons. Today, we performed diagnostics which excluded heart disease as a cause. We did not see an obvious mass in front of the hear and Flash's FeLV/FIV and heartworm test was negative which excludes cancer or an infectious disease as a cause.
Based on excluding known causes, Flash likely has idiopathic chylothorax which is due to damage or rupture of the lymphatic vessels as they course from the abdomen to the front of the chest where the lymph fluid would normally enter into the blood at the vena cava. The main treatment for idiopathic chylothorax is surgery to try and close off the leaking vessels. The overall success of surgery to stop fluid production is ~70%. I will have the surgery team email you a general estimate for the procedure.
Medical therapy for idiopathic chylothorax can be considered though in my experience it usually has a low success rate. The main medical therapy is using a herbal supplement called Rutin. You can purchase this in many supplement stores. I recommend getting the 500 my tablets and giving 1/4 to 1/2 tablet by mouth every 8 hours. In some cases, feeding a low-fat diet such as Hill's w/d diet may be of benefit in reducing the amount of lymph production. There is an injectable medication called octreotide which may be beneficial in some cases. It can be expensive and is administered three times a day under the skin.
PLAN:
1) Consider starting Rutin as above
2) We will email you an estimate for surgery

Today’s bill was $902

We have another appointment for Pumpkinhead on Monday to discuss treatment for her.

Terry

Good and bad (expensive) news
this is who we use for specialty care & have found them to be excellent but expensive, emergency surgery (removed part of our dog’s intestines) and follow up care ran just under $10k & now we are thinking about taking him bag to see a orthopedic specialist 


https://vcahospitals.com/

We're using CVETS. They're 15 minutes from my house, very nice people and they have the equipment and specialists to do anything. Plus they have a 24hr emergency room. They're not cheap but I/m not sure I'd want a cheap doctor operating on me. Besides, the only other place like it is on the opposite side of town and I'm sure they're not any cheaper. At least they give me a veteran discount which helps.

Terry