Liver Diseases?

Question

My friend's dog has been vomiting and having diarrhea last week. We sent the dog to the hospital, and they said the livers are "overheated". He went into ultrasound, and other examination that doesn't require a surgery. The results are back today, and they couldn't find anything he is diagnosed with. They made sure that it is not cancer or anything that can be seen. The dog will be going into a surgery tomorrow for taking samples of the liver. But the examination will take a week. If they couldn't find out whats happening, we have to let the dog go. I wonder if there is any professionals here or dog owners have had the same experience, and can give me some advice.

advice = what disease is likely to be found and chances of making it through and causes of the disease

Answer 1

If you went to a real vet and they said the "livers are overheated", I would get to another vet quickly. They only have 1 liver, not livers. And I have never heard the term "overheated" applied to a liver.
Some dude had to graduate last in the class at vet school, and you may have found him.
Usually they do not do all that for 1 week duration of vomiting and diarrhea. They usually do a liver biopsy during ultrasound, not surgery. It is a long, but thin hollow needle inserted into the liver while they are watching on the ultrasound.

Either you are making all this up, or you truly have found the worst vet hospital in the entire country!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 2

I am not sure what they meant by "overheated".

They should have started with a routine blood chemistry profile and a complete blood count (CBC) and a set of abdominal radiographs. This will provide baseline data on your dog. If nothing was obvious with those tests then I would proceed to an ultrasound.

If they found a reason to biopsy the liver that can be easily done through an ultrasound-guided biopsy procedure which requires a fairly in expensive biopsy device - it is done under sedation, is minimally invasive and the biopsy and pet leave the same day.

If they must take the dog to surgery - chest radiographs are a must. This may sound harsh - but there is no reason to take a cat or dog to surgery if it's lungs are full of cancer and without an x-ray you may not find out till after surgery. Plus, X-ray = $30 and surgery = $300 - $500 - would you pay 30 to save 500?

It will take several days for the biopsy report to return from the lab. During that time your dog may need to be supported in the hospital depending on how he feels.

Oh, your veterinarian should (if he is opening your dog up) also take biopsies of the stomach and intestines while he is in there. Vomiting and diarrhea can be caused by gastrointestinal problems and it would be a shame to miss an opportunity to get an answer because everyone is focusing on the liver.

Hope this helps, Good Luck.