I’ve been reading with interest the posts from dog owners diagnosed with Chylothorax. My 4 yr old small sheltie boy Simba was diagnosed 2.5 weeks ago. He (and his litter mate brother) are very active-going backpacking, hiking beach walking regularly. (Their mother was a Blue Merle-dad a sable) and their other litter mate had the rare genetic disorder causing albino-deaf-blindness but I had both mine swabbed and tested at Wa State Univ came back negative.) We noticed 3 wks ago that he was dragging and puffing while walking, took him to our vet for last 4.5 yrs-and she said his heart/lungs sounded fine, though she was concerned that he had gained 2 lbs (from 15-17 lbs). 1.5 days later he was worse, so we took him to the emergency vet specialist hospital in Matthews, NC. They drained 500 mls of chyle from his chest. After 3 full days of tests (xrays, ultrasound, CT scans and analyses, consults w 3 specialists-they diagnosed Chylothorax, recommended low fat diet (on Hill’s) and 375mg Rutin 3x/day. I’ve lost confidence in that she hadn’t noticed that one of his testicles is twice the size of the other-my husband didn’t want him neutered)-and the vet specialists found that immediately-could be because of a tumor-and now I’m worried about that too) 2.5 wks later he feels better, though yesterday we were ready to take him back to emergency vet because he had trouble getting up-but didn’t when he pranced around trail once up. Today-no sign of that. I’ve read with interest all your forums. They give me handouts on all treatment options-said their policy regarding the draining of fluids is 3x and your out. He has had 1 draining. Then I believe they would refer us to NC State vet hospital in Raleigh for options. We also felt like this was a death sentence for Simba, we are heartbroken about this-but he is still with us-so every day is a blessing from God. So any updates from dog owners with chylothorax would be appreciated-also the testicle thing. We will be getting him neutered and that tested-but they’ve not recommended that until this condition is somewhat under control. Thank you! Debby
