Small but mighty - Maggie's Battle

Maggie was the smallest in her litter, having three much bigger brothers to contend with. When she failed to gain much weight between her puppy vaccinations Sarah, her Blue Cross vet became concerned. A blood test confirmed these concerns, and at only 4 months old Maggie was diagnosed with a rare liver shunt (portosystemic shunt).

A liver shunt occurs when there is an abnormal connection between the veins that would normally allow blood to the liver meaning liver function is severely compromised. Puppies with this condition have poor growth rates and eventually a build-up of substances that are normally processed by the liver can cause neurological disfunction, seizures and a markedly reduced life span. Her owners were devastated.

Maggie had an ultrasound performed by our vet Felicity which gave an indication of the location of the abnormal vessel which was confirmed by a CT scan. Fortunately, this meant that she was a candidate for life saving surgery with a specialist in Christchurch. During surgery, a cellophane band was placed around her liver shunt. This band stimulates scar tissue formation with the goal being gradual constriction of Maggie’s abnormal vessel allowing a more normal blood supply to her liver.

We are now 4months post-surgery, and although she is still very tiny, Maggie has been slowly growing and is a bundle of energy. While she is not completely out of the woods yet, monitoring blood tests are looking great so far, and the hope is Maggie will live a long and full life.