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My 3-year old Chinese Shar-Pei has been diagnosed with renal amyloidosis and I think she may be coming into heat. We were planning on breeding her before we found this out. We want to fix her, but aren't sure it's a good idea. Help!
Optional Information: Pet's Sex: Female Pet's Age: 3
Welcome to Just Answer! I'm Dr. Hinson and I'd like to help you with your question.How was her diagnosis made?What symptoms was she showing?
She had blood work done and urinalysis after noticing a rapid weight loss. Her pro/creat ratio was 10 with low albumin. She was not anemic and still concentrating urine. She did not have documented fever episodes, but in hindsight we realized she had been displaying symptoms of swollen hock and fit fever episode descriptions. Unfortunately, we and the vet did not know about FSF. She had been treated for bacterial infections with antibiotics. After her urinalysis, the vet wanted to biopsy her kidney and we refused. The FSF w/ renal amyloidosis is not a definitive diagnosis. She has been put on lisinopryl, colchicine, Pepcid, fatty acid, and 1/2 baby aspirin and has been steadily improving. She has been on meds for a week.
What are her blood BUN, Creatine and phosphorus values?Has an abdominal ultrasound been done to look at the structure of the kidneys?
BUN = 57
Creatinine = 3.5
Phosphorus = 8.4
No Ultrasound... yet
These values are from 11/23. She is getting more bloodwork/urinalysis on Monday.
Well, you and your vet will need to decide what is best for her as far as the spay surgery. The benefits versus the risks need to weighed. If she goes under anesthesia now there are risks with her becoming hypotensive during the procedure which can further damage the kidneys. I'm sure your vet will put her on fluids during the surgery and monitor her blood pressure closely but sometime hypotension cannot be avoided.If she doesn't get spayed, she may come down with a pyometra (a uterine infection) or mammary cancer later on. If either of those happen then she will need to undergo anesthesia when she is in a VERY sick state which would likely be more dangerous for her. It's really hard to say. Like I said, you and your vet need to go over all the risks and benefits and make an informed decision about what to do.The only recommendation I can give you for sure (and I'd be you already know this) is NOT to breed her as this is a genetic disease.I'm sorry this happened but it sounds like you are getting her treated and are on the right track.
Thank you so much for your advice. We are aware this is a recessive genetic trait and would not want any other Shar-Pei families have to go through this difficult and devastating diagnosis. I guess if we decide spaying is the best option, we can get a biopsy at the same time to stain for amyloid. We also heard the breeder was shut down due to bad practices (choosing a great breeder is so important!). In my naivite, I figured there would be less problems for an AKC registered line.
In your opinion, do you think going through a heat will be stressful (amyloid deposition), increase protein loss, and cause more problems with her kidneys?
Yes! Definitely! Doing a renal biopsy at the time of spay would be a great idea.So sorry you ended up getting her from an unethical breeder. That really stinks. Have you notified the AKC? Maybe they can refuse to register any future litters from this breeder. I know she is "shut down" but she may try to set up again.In my opinion, yes, going through heat cycles is stressful and may cause more FSF symptoms, amyloid deposition and all the other issues...... It's tough......
Experience: 11+ years experience in the veterinary field. Experience with small, large and exotic species.
Thank you. I will be notifying the AKC in writing. Unethical breeding/breeders make me so ANGRY!!! Especially in the case of Shar-peis.
Agreed! I wish you all the best! I hope all goes well!