Ciba post-TPLO eating problems with video, vets stumped

[Colrain]

So I last posted about Ciba almost two months ago when he tore his CCL  and had to have a TPLO surgery. The recovery has been fantastic on his knee however he has been having some other serious problems from about the 1st week he was home.

He started to cry when he ate too much food (a few mouthfuls) and then after a few days if he did it again he would cry and then regurgitate his food that he just ate. I returned to the vet, they scoped him and found some esophageal ulcers which were giving him some grief. He was treated with Omeprazole and Sulcralfate and only feed a tablespoon of gastro canned food every 30 minutes - any more and it would cause and episode.

Things were ok for a while but any time he ate any piece of garbage (small piece of cardboard etc) he would cry and throw it up. We had an episode yesterday where after having a small bit of food he started to cry but not throw up at first. He did regurgitate but then continued to cry for almost an hour, and on the way to the Vet. He was given an injection of Dihydromorphone since he was in obvious distress which helped and he slept ok last night.

The vet made an appointment this morning with the specialist to have another ultrasound, scope, blood work etc. The results we got were that his leg has healed perfectly, the ulcers are gone and there's no scar tissue from them, his stomach seems fine, his intestine are fine, and some debris was found in his bladder but nothing serious. Blood work showed no pancreatitis either.

They don't know whats wrong. Still if he eats too much he has an episode right away. They are keeping him over night for observation and will do another ultrasound in the morning. If nothing is found they will consult and internal medicine specialist.

 

This video is from about 2 weeks ago and was when I tried to give him a bit of food before the 30 minutes was up. He's in obvious distress, it breaks my heart to watch. If anyone has had any similar experiences I would appreciate to hear from you.

 

 

[Mazz]

Oh Justin, poor Ciba.  There seemed to be a lot of foam, or bile, or fluids in the upchuck.  Wish I could offer a solution for you and Ciba.  Thoughts, prayers, and Husky Hugs for Ciba.  Hope the vets find the problem and come up with a treatment.

[Emma]

Hoping the vets can get to the bottom of it.  they've done a full panel blood work from the sounds of it so thyroid, pancreatitis, adrenals are ruled out.   Ultrasound to look for obstructions and any abnormalities, scope to look for mechanical reasons in the throat and stomach.   Although we don't know yet what it is, having ruled out some of the above conditions, the vets are getting closer to the truth.  Wishing you all the best, it must be so hard seeing him like that.  

[Colrain]

They just called and told me that everything came back fine and they don't know what's wrong. He threw up in their office when they tried to give him some food. 

The vets are conferring now to figure out what the best course of action is going to be and that they will probably send him home (I would be taking him anyway - he's spent too much time there)

They did do a full blood and urine work up and everything appears normal. We're really worried about him. It's been 4 weeks now and he was 85lbs (ok a bit heavy) but is now 68lbs. 

[Colrain]

Just got Ciba home from the vet. They put in an NG tube to bypass his esophagus and see if he still had any issues. They were able to feed him no problems so hopefully that rules out any issues there and no need for exploratory surgery. They left the tube in for me to feed him over the weekend to give his esophagus a break and he will be reevaluated Monday. Hopefully whatever is causing the issues it gets better after a rest. 

Ill update as things go on. 

[Emma]

Aww bless him. Fingers crossed for him.

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[goingsolo]

Poor Ciba, sending hugs x

[Jase]

Oh no, my friend recently went through exactly the same thing after TPLO surgery It was strictures in the esophagus. it is a horrible condition caused by bile rising in the esophagus in some rare cases under sedation. Basically scarring - he needed ballooning where a special thin ballon is inserted down the esophagus and inflated to break the scars and open up the throat. He needed a feeding tube inserted near the abdomen during the treatment as his was very restricted.

 

I wish you all the very best. Please discuss the ballooning as my friend had to go to a real specialist to get this diagnosis and treatment. It may take 4 + treatments, so the quicker an action plan is put in place the better the chances. 

Edited February 6, 2016 by Jase

[Colrain]

Thanks for the info Jase. I was thinking the same thing and was worried about having to go through the ballooning procedure. Ciba has had three endoscopes done and each time I've asked if there was any scarring but was told there was none - hopefully that's the case. 

As a little update Ciba is like a whole new dog lately. The NG tube is gone (he sneezed it up the night before it was supposed to come out lol) and he's now eating canned gastro food blended with a bit of water. No issues in almost 2 weeks. Slowly we'll move to just canned food, then soaked kibble, then kibble over the next few months. 

The vet still isn't sure what's going on but she's a surgeon and not an internal specialist so if something goes wrong again we're probably going to have to take hjm to another province to have a full internal workup. 

Hipefully the worst is behind us. I'm just so happy to see him back to his old self. 

[Jase]

Thats great news. I hope thinks continue to improve