I’m sorry to hear you’re going through this too, Kelly. This is something I wouldn’t wish on anyone.
My dog is still doing well & I’m so thankful for that. Her lung lobe torsion occurred after she had the surgery (thoracic duct ligation). They said some fluid build up is normal after surgery but the torsion wasn’t the cause of the chylothorax. She had to have a 2nd surgery to fix the torsion. We tried the low fat diet & Rutin for several weeks before surgery & it wasn’t working; chyle was still building up & she had to be tapped repeatedly. The surgery didn’t work & she had a pleural port put in; we drain the fluid at home.
She is on Royal Canin low fat gastro and I mix the canned & dry food together. She also takes 1000mg of Rutin 3 times a day. Did they suggest Rutin? That’s about the only thing that’s been suggested for chylothorax. That and a low fat diet.
If I had it to do over again I would not have had the surgery. It cost a fortune & didn’t work. It may work for some dogs. I didn’t know about the pleural port and hers was the first one the vet did, but I would try that before doing major surgery if at all possible. The chest taps cause scarring and pocketing in the chest, which can make getting fluid out harder or even impossible. She has pocketing on one side but fluid can still come out.
Most vets have never dealt with this at all and haven’t heard of the pleural port. It’s a much less invasive procedure; the port is under the skin with a tube that goes thru the chest cavity. You use a special needle and after cleaning the area, insert the needle into the center of the port (think it’s silicone) and pull out fluid til it stops. We do it twice a week and get about 800ml – 1000ml out each time. She’s about 30 lbs. so that’s a lot but it’s been that way for 3 years.
I don’t know anything about other foods; she’s been on the Royal Canin since she was diagnosed. The Hills Prescription food is available too but about the same price. I don’t think I’d even consider anything that your dog is allergic to though.
Her protein levels are a little low but not terribly; and she’s at the same weight she was before all this. She eats well & is active & happy. I was worried about the protein loss as it’s said to lead to wasting but that hasn’t happened.
I would ask your vet about the port – info at norfolkvetproducts.com. Maybe even print the info out & bring it with you. And I’d ask about the success rate they’ve had with the surgery; what they think caused the torsion (was it first or was the chylothorax first and caused the torsion) and if your dog isn’t already on Rutin, ask about that too.
And — it may yet resolve on its own — it sounds like it hasn’t been that long. They tried my dog for several weeks on Rutin & low fat diet to see if it would go away before talking about surgery. Don’t let them rush you into a decision – it’s not good but it’s not necessarily an emergency either.
I wish you lots of good luck and please keep us posted! Carol
4 weeks ago
