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Seriously Ill Whippet - Can You Help?

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Paul Johnson

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Dear All,

We have a 3 year old whippet, last week she stopped eating and was very subdued and listless. Her breathing was very laboured so we took her to the vets.

The vets were very concerned after the x rays revealed the sacks around the lungs were filling up with chylothorax fluid, mainly to the left side. This liquid was drained and she felt so much better.

Since then she has spent 3 days this week at the Bristol vetinary hospital. They have x rayed her and carried out ultra sounds, her lungs have again been filling up with this liquid which has also effected her liver which incidentally was found have ulcers all over it when she was younger.

They beleive that the lungs are filling up from a leaking valve between the aorta and the heart which would require very intrusive surgery and may not solve the problem. Once the fluid is drained everything goes back to normal.

Has anybody heard of this problem in a whippet before?, apparently this has been happening recently in dogs with 50% being whippets.

Your help would be most appreciative

Paul
 
I am sorry to say that i have never heard of that happening before in any dog so cannot offer any advice but i do wish you the best of luck with your whippet and pray for a speedy recovery. :huggles:

Vicki
 
Thank you for your support

littleminx said:
I am sorry to say that i have never heard of that happening before in any dog so cannot offer any advice but i do wish you the best of luck with your whippet and pray for a speedy recovery.  :huggles:
Vicki

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Hi,

Welcome to K9. :)

I've not heard of it either but there are some very experienced owners and a Vet on here and some one may well have.

Langford is the best place for her to be as they have all the eqpt you can think of, and ofcourse highly qualified Vets. :luck:

You must be feeling desperate for good news, and I hope you get some. I really hope that your whippet makes a full recovery.

It would be lovely to see a picture of her if you have one you can post. :thumbsup:

Rae, Vader, Star, Leia, Tie & Holly Bananas.
 
Welcome to K9 Paul, what a shame you found us at such a terrible time in your whippets life :(

I can't offer any medical or veterinary advice either, but as Rae said there are some really good people on here who should be able to offer you some information. You must be beside yourself with worry, having such a young whippet so seriously ill :(

Thinking of you,

Helen & Josie
 
I lost my last whippet a year ago in February, he had a leaky heart valve and his lungs were filling up towards the end. Anyway when this first happened the vet persribed drugs - some to help the heart muscle and some to help the excess water problem. The fluid returned eventually.

His breathing was very laboured in his final weeks and then he started fitting frequently at first then every week so in the end we just knew the dog had had enough. :( CHIP was 12 1/2 years old.

Your dog is very young but it does sound like the condition is similar but not exactly the same. Will medication keep your dogs problem contained or have they said it will only get worse.

Good wishes and Best of lUCK :luck: do hope there is something they can do for her.
 
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It sounds awful, wishing you every possible ounce of good luck with it. In many ways, her young age could be an advantage, is surgery is the only option, her youth could be a positive factor in her recovery. Do keep us updated. I do feel so sorry for you.
 
Sorry i cant offer any advice, but i hope She has aspeedy recovery and all paws and fingers crossed for the future :luck: :luck:
 
No advice or experience to offer but I just wanted to wish you and your little girl all the best and hope you get to the bottom of things quickly and find a simple solution :luck:
 
Wish I could offer advice, very best of luck and welcome to K9 :luck: :luck: :luck:
 
Just wanted to wish you luck, hoping for a good outcome.
 
Hope your wee girl feels better soon. :huggles: Welcome to k9
 
Paul Johnson said:
The vets were very concerned after the x rays revealed the sacks around the lungs were filling up with chylothorax fluid, mainly to the left side.
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From what (very) little I know the presence of chyle is normal in small volumes and is produced by the lymph system.

They beleive that the lungs are filling up from a leaking valve between the aorta and the heart which would require very intrusive surgery and may not solve the problem. Once the fluid is drained everything goes back to normal.
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I cannot see how a leaking valve could cause this but any surgery here would be very invasive. There are reports of heartworm causing this problem but we do not (yet) have this problem in the UK as far as I know.

Has anybody heard of this problem in a whippet before?, apparently this has been happening recently in dogs with 50% being whippets.
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Maybe posting on one of the wider circulation whippet boards / lists could get some in depth answers.

Are you OK for the info to be posted elsewhere?

Anyone able to post ??

Dawn
 
I have no experience of this either, but wish you the very best for your girl. It is so depressing when your dog is poorly, and especially stressful when you're waiting for a proper diagnosis. Hope you soon hear some positive news. Fingers crossed for you.
 
This is not a probem I know anything about but want to wish you luck and hope that the outcome is possitive :luck:
 
Sorry I can't help but best of luck from us all, and welcome to K9 :huggles:

Gina Snoop and Gucci
 
I'm sorry this has happened - you must be having a terrible time. I'm not quite clear about what's going on in her chest though - have you any more info to post? They're meant to be lovely at Bristol. I Hope things are going well. Do keep us updated. :luck:
 
Wishing you all the best with your young whippet, hope a solution is found for her soon.

All the best :luck: :luck: :luck:

Julie
 
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