Lymphangiectasia - Yorkie

Question
Hi, I reviewed your response to someone that has a 7 yr old Yorkie that wrote in about this disease on 02/01/09.  My pup, Braxton, who is 4 yrs old was just diagnosed with the same rare disease.  How, we do not have confirmation as a biopsy has not been done.  He has all of the symptoms of this disease EXCEPT for the diarrhea!   I see that this is the most common symptom.  Since he does not have it, could it be something else?  What are the chances of a dog surviving from this disease?  What is his quality of life?

Answer
With the proper treatment and care, most dogs live a long and happy life with this condition. Without constant care and diligence they won't do very well.

Diarrhea is one of the main symptoms and the one that brings in the pet more than any other one. Weight loss, bloating and lethargy can also be a part of the symptoms.

Here is a really clear article on this fairly rare disease. It is rare but not uncommon.

http://www.marvistavet.net/html/intestinal_lymphangiectasia.html

Read that and it will answer a lot of your questions.

It is always a hard thing to deal with this diagnosis so I really want to encourage you to get a second opinion. Especially when no biopsy has been made. That is the most telling way to find out for sure if he has Lymphangiectasia.

I hope this article helps. Please let me know how he is doing in a few weeks.