Long Term Bile Acid Concentrations in Dogs After Complete Congenital Portosystemic Shunt Ligation

Introduction
Complete surgical closure of a congenital portosystemic shunt (CPSS) eliminates blood flow through the abnormal vessel and is associated with an excellent long-term prognosis, but there is a lack of information on whether long-term liver function normalizes. The objective of this study was to evaluate the long-term (>18 months) results of bile acid stimulation test (BAST) in dogs following complete CPSS ligation.

Materials and Methods
Medical records were retrieved for all dogs that had complete ligation of a single CPSS using a polypropylene (Prolene; Ethicon) ligature, between 2000 and 2012. Dogs with concurrent multiple acquired shunts (MAS) before, during or after surgery were excluded. Dogs that were alive had a physical examination, body condition score, biochemistry and bile acid stimulation test performed. Owners were asked to fill out a two part quality of life questionnaire. Related-samples Wilcoxon Signed Rank tests were used to make comparisons between pre- and post-prandial serum bile acid concentrations pre-operatively, short term (3 months after surgery) and long-term (>18 months after surgery). Significance for all tests was set at p<0.05.  [...]