Dog Liver Shunt /
Microvascular Dysplasia

If your dog has been diagnosed with a liver shunt – called Portosystemic Shunt (PSS) -  or Microvascular Dysplasia (MVD) - then they have poor liver health. 

 

A Bile Acid Test with a post-eating number over 100 is thought to confirm a liver shunt. A post-eating number under 100 is thought to confirm MVD.   But they are basically the same thing.

 

A liver shunt is merely an extra blood vessel that is diverting blood around the unhealthy liver. It could be one blood vessel or multiple blood vessels. It could be inside the liver, or outside the liver. If these blood vessels are tiny then it is called Microvascular Dysplasia.

 

If the liver shunt happens at birth, it is a congenital liver shunt. If it happens after birth, then it is an acquired liver shunt. Either way, it is the same principle.  

 

Not too many websites about liver shunts will discuss the subject of why dogs develop liver shunts.  And IF the cause of dog liver shunt/MVD is addressed at all, they will tell you that a liver shunt is a genetic problem. I will explain why it is NOT. 

 

This is what I have learned -  a liver shunt/MVD is NOT a genetic condition. Your vet may still believe it is, and tell you that your dog's liver problems are genetic. It is not so, based on multiple studies and my experience with thousands of dogs. Your dog's genetics have little or nothing to do with what is going on right now. What your dog has is very likely a nutritional problem. 

 

Here is the short version of why your dog has a liver shunt.

 

The body does nothing by accident. The acquired liver shunt does not grow for no apparent reason. The body does not say "Gosh, I think I will grow an extra hepatic blood vessel today."  No - The liver shunt grows because the body is trying to keep your dog alive!

 

The body is an amazingly efficient system. Everything that happens is done for a reason, even the growth of a liver shunt.   

 

The liver's main job is to filter the blood of toxins and wastes as blood flows through the liver. If the liver health is poor, then the liver gets clogged and blood has trouble flowing through it. This causes the blood pressure in the blood vessels supplying the liver with blood to reach dangerous - even life threatening levels.

 

The body then grows a liver shunt (or multiple shunts or microvascular shunts) to BYPASS the liver. This relieves the dangerous blood pressure that has built up in the blood vessels supplying the liver with blood due to the clogged liver. The liver shunt is an emergency measure that the body is using under duress. If it didn't happen, your dog would likely be dead due to liver failure. 

 

Don't freak out because your dog has a liver shunt. The liver shunt is there to take care of the problem created by the unhealthy, clogged liver. This is why it is foolish to concentrate on getting rid of the liver shunt or to try to "manage" the symptoms created by the liver shunt.  The liver shunt is NOT the problem. The unhealthy liver is the problem. So spend your time and money improving the health of the liver. This is done with better nutrition.    

 

Now, the liver shunt or MVD does create other problems, because the blood that is being diverted around the unhealthy liver is not getting filtered of toxins and wastes. This is one of the main functions of the liver. So your dog has an overly toxic system that can create a host of problems. 

 

But the body ALWAYS takes care of the most pressing problem first - thus keeping itself alive - and leaves other things - like too many toxins and wastes in the bloodstream - to be dealt with as it can.   But if these secondary problems become too great, then your dog will die as well. That is why it is critical to improve the liver's ability to function normally as much as possible, so that it can do it's job filtering toxins and wastes.

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With a puppy born with a congenital shunt it is much the same. The liver shunt is present in ALL developing normal fetus'. At birth, if the liver health is fine, the body closes off the shunt because it is no longer needed. If the liver health is poor, due to poor nutrition from the mother, (primarily), then the liver shunt does NOT close off as it should and stays open because it is still needed.  The body now uses it to divert blood around the unhealthy, clogged liver. 

 

Your vet looks at it completely different. They view the liver shunt as the CAUSE of your dog's problems. They think that the liver shunt is allowing toxins and wastes to bypass the liver without being filtered out, thus creating health problems and poor liver health. These toxins and wastes ARE creating health problems, but closing off the liver shunt WITHOUT restoring the health of the liver to full function is treating the symptom and not the problem.  

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The liver shunt is merely a more serious symptom of your dog’s poor liver health. Close it off with surgery and you are going against what the body is trying to do. In fact, the re-occurrence rate for the regrowth of a liver shunt in dogs that have had surgery is 40 - 50%. Sometimes in as little as six months.

 

The standard veterinary thinking is that by closing off the liver shunt, more blood will be forced back into the unhealthy liver. The dog's liver is then supposed to magically adjust to this increased blood flow and become healthy.

 

A dog CAN seemingly improve temporarily with this surgical approach. But if steps are not taken to improve the health of the liver, then problems will return. In fact, the body may regrow more liver shunts in as little as six months time and then you are back to square one and stuck with a vet bill in the multiple thousands of dollars.  

 

Plus, think about this for a minute. Most vets won't use anesthesia to spay or neuter, clean teeth or operate on a dog with poor liver health. The use of anesthesia in these cases is too dangerous. But these vets see no problem using a tremendous amount of anesthesia to cut open your dog for major liver shunt surgery. Does this make any sense to you? Some dogs don't even survive the surgery and die on the operating table. 

 

Thankfully, there is a much better way. The solution is to improve the functioning ability of the liver and restore the proper blood flow through it. This is done by supplying the body with the nutrients it needs to heal and regenerate. But it is an approach your vet likely has no experience with. When the only tools in your Vet's "toolbox" are drugs and surgery, then better nutrition may not be looked at as an option.

 

Only in getting to the underlying cause of the poor liver health with a proper diet and whole food nutrients will you likely be able to say goodbye to your dog's poorly functioning liver – and perhaps your high vet bills – once and for all. My approach has worked for 1000's of dogs. 

 

Let’s get your dog on the right path to better health.

 

Click on the FREE CONSULTATION button.

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​For more In Depth Information on Dog Liver Shunts, please click here.

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