Portosystemic Encephalopathy in a Dog- Juniper Publishers
Journal of Dairy & Veterinary Sciences - Juniper Publishers Abstract Portosystemic shunt is an abnormal vascular connection between the portal and systemic venous system. Due to this abnormal network of vessels, portal venous blood and its toxic by-products by-pass the liver and directly mix into the systemic circulation. It is a well-known congenital cause of encephalopathy which is characterized by high ammonium levels. Our case; a two-year-old male dog was brought to our clinic with tonic-clonic epileptic seizures and allotriophagia presenting for the last four months.Diagnosis of portosystemic shunt was made, and a surgical operation was planned. After the operation, ammonium levels decreased sharply. However, ammonium levels have started to rise again the month following the procedure and leaded to more severe symptoms. Consequently, the patient was euthanized after three months. Keywords: Portosystemic shunt; Encephalopathy; Hepatic encephalopathy...