Louie ~ Kitty with Chylothorax

[phesina]

Oh, that's wonderful! Be well, Louie!!!

[maerlyn]

This really got my attention, as My Sweet Lady went to the Bridge through chylothorax. When someone has a chance, will you please explain what the surgery does? No surgery was ever offered to us. My Sweet Lady was being treated with Rutin and presnisolone, and her chest was tapped only once. i found her in the bedroom doorway when I awoke one morning; it appeared as though she'd started to walk out of the room and simply walked out of her body. Her chylothorax was idiopathic. I'd arranged for an MRI, but the doctor at that center called Lady's doctor and said the duct that was leaking probably wouldn't show on the MRI as the duct is transparent. On the combined doctors' advice, I canceled the MRI.

I really would appreciate knowing the details of Louie's case.

[kuhio98]

Sharon ~ It's so good to see you here and I'm sorry to hear about Lady.

I don't have the details, but I've posted a request for details in Louie's IMOM's thread. Hope to hear from Louie's Mom soon. Sweet Louie is doing well and is back at home in Rhode Island. He continues to improve.

[maerlyn]

Lisa, thanks for the reply; it's nice to be connected again. Lady passed several years ago; I have to check, but I believe it was Valentine's Day. If Louie is doing well - that is GREAT! I'm hoping that his case is somewhat different from Lady's; I'd hate to think that my vet missed something. Of course, I had taken her to a specialist who also never mentioned surgery.

[kuhio98]

Sharon ~ Louie's mom posted this information in response to our request.

I'm so sorry to hear about your friend's kitty. Chylothorax is just a terrible condition and if it's not treated right away, the chances of recovery are so slim. It's just so so sad. Some animals can overcome it by different types of medications and with time while others cannot. They really don't know what the condition is caused by more times than not and it can easily disappear as quickly as it came on. When I was speaking with Louie's regular doctor, she told me that a practitioner might see it maybe 3 times in their career. Little is known about it and treatment options are far and few.

In Louie's case, it was idiopathic. They ruled out every single possible cause that they could test for prior to surgery. That's why I was trying to wait to see if he could recover on his own or if the condition would resolve itself but the fluid just kept coming back. Then it got to a point where scar tissue was building up and he only had a week or so to have the surgery before they wouldn't perform it any longer due to the conditions of his lungs. So Louie ended up having a thoracic duct ligation, pericardectomy and ablation of the cisterna chyli. Having all 3 things completed at once raises the success rate up to 80%. (Rather than doing the more standard and typical surgery for this condition of completing just the thoracic duct ligation which is around a 20% success rate, from what I've been told.)

In addition, she recommends this website https://www.acvs.org/small-animal/chylothorax

[maerlyn]

Lisa, my thanks to you for being the 'go between'; please extend my thanks to Louie's mom - and my heartfelt joy that Louie is doing so well. The link to the website was very helpful. The fact that the condition is so rare - well, I guess Lady's doctor hasn't seen it much. When I called to tell him about Lady, he asked if I had still had her body - she'd passed over the weekend - as he wanted to do an autopsy. Once mine have passed, though, I need to bury the body right away, so Lady's body was already buried. I hadn't known that surgery was ever an option; perhaps, if we'd had the MRI done. . . . But I followed both doctors' recommendation; considering that the doctor in the MRI center was turning down what must be a lot of money, it seemed the prudent thing - to follow her recommendation. The MRI had been recommended by the internist. I guess I wish I'd known then what I know now - and I'd have inquired about surgery. Life is full of that, though, isn't it?

Thanks to both of you. It's past, and My Sweet Lady awaits me at the Bridge.

[kuhio98]

We're please to report that Louie is recovering and back to playing. You can still see the surgery scar on his chest and where they shaved his leg for the IV, but this sweet boy is expected to make a full recovery.

Louie's been doing really well. Everyday he seems to be improving and feeling better and more like himself again. He is going in for another check up tomorrow to flash his chest to see if any fluid is there and / or if he was able to rid himself of the fluid that was there since surgery. I'll let you all know how we make out!