Hi Carol,
I hope your Sheltie continues to do well; your story has been an encouraging inspiration for me. Our Irish Wolfhound, Carrick, was diagnosed with idiopathic chylothorax two and a half months ago (March, 2016). He was exactly 3 1/2 years old on March 2nd. As you and others have already noted, we thought it was an immediate death sentence. I would like to extend a huge thank you to you for taking the time to share your experiences and reply to all the previous posts; you have provided a wealth of information for all of us struggling on this un-fun path. You may not realize just how great an impact you are making 🙂
Carrick has been tapped about every two weeks since he was initially diagnosed. The onset was sudden and our vet initially thought it was congestive heart failure. We then went to a veterinary cardiologist who diagnosed it as idiopathic chylothorax. We then went to consult with a surgeon regarding our options; the surgery estimate was $17,000 for a 50/50 chance of success (I’m sure his size factored into this insane number, and possibly our location; the veterinary hospital is about 25 miles outside of Manhattan). This was not a financial option for us. Since reading your posts, I am grateful that it wasn’t.
We are now seeing a holistic vet and have been feeding him a home cooked low fat diet and giving him 2000 mg of Rutin four times a day, among other things. The last three chest taps have been 15 and 16 days apart with a removal of about two gallons of chyle each time. Also, thanks to you for the information on the port; our vet has spoken with the manufacturer and ordered it. Any and all additional information or advice you may have will be gratefully received
