Please Help! Veterinary Advice Desperately Needed. - Page 11

Thanks for taking the time to give us updates. It is good to know Sam is hanging in there and you are committed to finding answers. I continue to pray for a healthy outcome. I would get a 4th opinion, too.

I hope there is an answer, sometimes we don't find one, no matter what we do. But I'd rather stay with positive thinking! 

I hope everything is still going well with your sick one. With an elevated white count, and a lung issue we also look at if there is something in the lung ( foreign body) that was inhaled. The biopsy will tell. What ever it is we go to surgery right from the get go to relieve the pressure.
Alway,
Cee

The vet should be familiar with what tick-borne diseases are in your area. The ones listed above are relevant to the United States, and parts of Canada. Fortunately, only the southernmost part of Canada has Lyme's disease.

No point in having him test for diseases which aren't there!

 I believe the dog did have a relatively normal bowel movement at least during the trip to KL. The question I have now is about the "mass". Is there x-ray evidence of a mass, or just fluid present in the chest cavity? The test results of the fluid withdrawn is also of interest as soon as it comes back. This will help identify, perhaps, the cause of the fluid. I still think there is an infection present, although it may be a compounding issue to something else also going on. 

Looking forward to the update by Sabrina. And yes, there are a host of diseases in SE Asia that are transmitted by insects of various kinds.

I have been really busy lately and have not looked at this forum for the last couple of weeks, so I had not seen this thread before and have just been reading the whole story.  While I have no idea what is going on with this dog, I just want to say to Sabrina that I can totally sympathize with your situation.  As Hodie knows (she has  helped me on several occasions with  medical issues), I am also English but live in Ecuador, and we have to deal with the same lack of veterinary experience and facilities.  About 4 years ago I had a young female with a mystery illness, she became lethargic, lost her appetite, hair falling out at the roots - palpation and ultrasound revealed a huge mass in the abdomen and exploratory surgery showed the spleen about 20 times normal size and a lot of bloody fluid in the abdomen.  The vet was sure it was hemangiosarcoma, though she was only 3 at the time, and we were devastated.  However, the biopsy revealed it was not cancer but inflammatory tissue.   We then had to face the decision whether or not to remove the spleen to avoid it rupturing - my vet had no experience of this but started researching as much as possible, and even practiced on an euthanized dog.  It was a difficult decision - risk major surgery with an inexperienced vet, travel to Quito where the vets (possibly?) are a little more experienced or risk a ruptured spleen? But in the end we never had to make the decision.  On strong antibiotic injections and total rest, the spleen started to reduce in size.  10 days later it was back to normal.  Alegría is now seven years old and full of life, and had two litters since her illness.  Maybe Sam has more serious issues, but I really do feel for you and hope for a positive outcome.  Let us know....

Hoping that Sabrina will come back and post an update........

I was thinking that myself, also that it's good news!

So sorry I haven't updated yet.

Waited ages for the test results (which as expected took so long) but will have them first thing tomorrow and as soon as I get them and speak to the vet will post here.

Thanks again everyone for the support and help.

UPDATE:
Sorry for the late update, my internet has been out completely for the last few days.


TEST RESULT:
We have spoken to the vet in KL about the test results and he says it shows there is no infection present in the fluid, and there were no cancerous cells detected from the sample (though he said it could still be cancer).

He says that he thinks the mass is a tumor of some sort and the only way to permanently remove it is through surgery.


SAM's CONDITION:
Recently Sam's condition has greatly deteriorated, she is largely immobile / bed-ridden and has also developed bed-sores (which we are giving an antibiotic cream for, Foban). One severe sore on her chest is 'open' which the vet says means it is infected (she has been given antibiotics for this also). The vet in KL says this 'open wound' is due to the bed sores and internal pressure and also recommended she go on antibiotics until we can get her to KL.

On Friday morning (Sam was still fairly active at this time), Sam's front left arm had 'swollen' greatly due to a build up of fluid which we were told is due to the fact that the blood pressure is low on her left side. She went on Lasix for 1-2 days and the swelling cleared.

Sam is still eating fairly well and is drinking water adequately.


CURRENT PLAN:
As Sam's condition has deteriorated so severly and that we seem unable to properly determine the cause of the encapsulated fluid in her chest, we have decided the only thing left for us to do is to take Sam back to KL and attempt surgery. (We are currently waiting for some equipment to arrive in KL and will be taking Sam on Wednesday)

As her current condition is so poor and she is defintely not strong enough for surgery, we will first take her to KL to drain the fluid in her chest. As, according to the vet, her heart is compressed by the 'mass' and this is why her body is unable to function properly, we are hoping that after draining the fluid she will stabilise and be in a much better position to permanently remove the mass through surgery.


QUESTIONS:
-We will be taking Sam to KL on Wednesday and are currently getting everything ready for her but wanted to know if there is anything we can do to try and make the journey easier for her? Any booster injection / multi-vitamin shot we can give to strengthen her?

-As Sam has quite a severe bed sore on her chest which is open / infected, will it be possible to drain the fluid from her chest or will that have to be cleared up first?

-The vet in KL has also told me that Sam will have to go on a mild-anaesthetic in order to drain the fluid from her chest, but I am worried that as she is so weak at the moment she won't even be able to pull through that? Is there anything we can do to try and strengthen her before draining the fluid? Possibly going on a drip for a day or so as well as booster infections?


So, thank you all again so much for the help and kind words.
And please any advice regarding the surgery / trip to KL will be so greatly appreciated.

It pains me so so much to see Sam like this (it is just ridiculous that she cannot be hospitalised at a vet here) and it seems that surgery is our last hope to help her (though the vet does say it is not likely she will pull through in her current condition) so please help us to give her the best possible chance she has.

Thank you all again.