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  #1  
Old February 10th, 2009, 12:07 PM
zots zots is offline
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Unhappy Von Willebrand's Disease

My 10 yr old, italian greyhound, whom I love very very much has a SERIOUS problem that I can use anyones help with. i took him into the vet on friday for his routine dental and they called me saying they couldnt perform the procedure due to severe bruising of his front legs when trying to insert the iv. they drew blood (cbc w/diff, cancer cursors, liver profile, pt/ptt) and sent it away. the following morning all blood work came back negative. they are going to test him for von willebrand's disease this week. my vet contacted our internal med/oncology vet regarding Saltmeat. he stated that they are seeing a rise in sitehounds with non-discript hemorrhagic/hemophillia type clotting disorders (testing negative for von willebrand's and all blood work normal). he stated that a vet at Ohio State University is doing a study on it. my vet is trying to contact this vet as we speak. they said that there is currently no treatment other than blood transfusions as needed. does ANYONE know of anything i can do? any type of prevention??? anything? I cant lose my baby to this. he is so full of life and i love him so very much. please, if you can help me, i would be so thankful.
cheryl
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Old February 10th, 2009, 09:24 PM
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What are the issues your dog is having to have them test for this?

Here is some links to help you with this disorder.

http://www.peteducation.com/article....2+1614&aid=488

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body...s_disease.html
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Old February 11th, 2009, 08:16 AM
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severe bruising/hemorrhage when placing an iv for a dental. he has always bruised more readily than my other iggys but when they went to do his dental last friday, when they inserted the iv, he hemorrhaged from his paw to his shoulder. they thought that perhaps he had moved an blew the vein badly, but when they inserted the iv into his other arm the same thing happened. he also developed a deep bruise on his neck. they feel that whatever is going on was related to the amount of stress he was under. von willebrand's (at least the testing for it) is also subject to stress factors.

thank you for the websites. they were helpful. if you find anything else on von willebrand's or any non-discript hemorrhagic disorder, please let me know.

blessings
cheryl
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Old February 11th, 2009, 10:05 PM
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any ideas anyone?
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Old February 11th, 2009, 10:55 PM
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I've no advice, but I do want to send and wish you the best for your baby. I hope the tests this week give you some useful information!
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Old February 12th, 2009, 07:52 AM
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Originally Posted by hazelrunpack View Post
I've no advice, but I do want to send and wish you the best for your baby. I hope the tests this week give you some useful information!
Thank you. We are praying that we get good news. i spoke with one of the vets yesterday. we are still awaiting the call from the dr at osu. she said that as soon as she hears from him she will enter saltmeat into his study and hopefully good will come from that. the Lord knows how much I love Saltmeat and if i love him this much, i know the Lord loves him even more. I know He will take care of him. its just that the waiting is very hard.

blessings
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Old February 12th, 2009, 10:25 AM
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Waiting is always the worst part. "Not knowing" can be a debilitating thing. Once you have some answers, at least you know what you're facing and can take steps accordingly.

for good news soon!
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Old February 12th, 2009, 04:41 PM
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I will quote frm a couple books I have. This is frm Earl Mindell's Nutrition & Health for Dogs. In this book he lists Breed-Specific Health Problems-( in other words--what each breed is prone to)--"Thrombocytopenia: An abnormal decrease in the number of blood platelets. Blood platelets play a role in blood clotting. Symptoms are tiny hemorrhages in the skin and mucous membranes". That is listed for Italian Greyhound. Did your vet mention anything on this possible problem, if not--maybe you should ask about it (prob. have to write it down--I know I can't begin to pronounce it.)

Frm other book: Dog Owner's Home Veterinary Handbook: (This is under heading for Von Willebrand's Disease) "This is the most common inherited bleeding disorder in dogs. The bleeding is caused by a deficiency of a plasma protein called the von Willebrand factor, which is critical for normal platelet function in the early stages of clotting. In most cases the bleeding in vWD is mild or inapparent, and lessens with age. Severe problems include prolonged nosebleeds, bleeding beneath the skin and into the muscles, and blood in the stool and urine. There is often a history of bleeding frm the gums following tooth eruptions, and oozing frm wounds following tail docking and dewclaw removal. HYPOTHYROIDISM is common in dogs with vWD, and may contribute to the bleeding. The diagnosis for vWD is made by specific blood tests, including a bleeding time. A quantitative test for von Willebrand's disease involves measuring the vWD antigen. Dogs with vWD antigen levels below the normal range are at risk for expressing and/or carrying the trait."
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Old February 12th, 2009, 09:22 PM
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thank you all for your help. i spoke with the vet this morning. saltmeat is going to osu on wednesday. he will be seen by C. Guillermo Couto, DVM. i guess he is supposed to be an internationally known canine hematologist. he feels that saltmeat does not have von willebrand's disease but rather hematosarcoma or some clotting factor disease that he is currently running a study on in greyhounds. he said that there has been an outbreak of this clotting factor disease in the greyhound population and they are currently working to isolate what exactly this disease is and a treatment for it. my vet believes they are using platelet therapy of some sort. she is getting more info on it before we go. let me know if any of you know anything about any of this. we are praying and would appreciate anyone elses prayers.

if the vet who comes on this site sees this could you please give me your input?
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Old February 17th, 2009, 07:47 AM
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just wanting to bump this back up to the top so hopefully the vet will see it.
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Old February 17th, 2009, 11:58 AM
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Zots I have sent Dr Lee a PM to indicate you need some advise on this thread. I hope he checks in soon! Hope this helps.

I have never heard of this illness myself.

Good Luck Dr Lee is awesome!

Cindy
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Old February 17th, 2009, 01:09 PM
zots zots is offline
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Zots I have sent Dr Lee a PM to indicate you need some advise on this thread. I hope he checks in soon! Hope this helps.

I have never heard of this illness myself.

Good Luck Dr Lee is awesome!

Cindy
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Old February 17th, 2009, 01:15 PM
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i just im'd dr lee. thank you so much for the advice cindy
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  #14  
Old February 17th, 2009, 02:54 PM
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I am so sorry to hear about the problems that saltmeat is undergoing. It must be very scary. There is a lot of information on von Willebrand’s disease and sometimes it is conflicting or confusing as there are 3 different types of vWD. Since your vet does not think that this is a factor, then I will avoid an exegesis on vWD.

There are several common causes of coagulopathy including: rodenticide/vitamin K, vWD, thrombocytopenia (low platelets), drug interactions (i.e. aspirin) however… there are also many uncommon causes of coagulopathy. These can be as complex and involved in dogs as it is in people. Our ability to coagulate depends not only on platelet number but platelet function and the coagulation cascade which includes the intrinsic, extrinsic and common pathways. There is a lot that can happen along the way. Furthermore when tumors or cancer is suspected, the subsequent release of hormones and chemicals (tumor necrosis factor, interleukins, inflammatory mediators) can also interfere with the coagulation process.

I am sorry if this is not helpful but my point is that once we are outside the normal causes of coagulopathy, then giving advice without detailed information is difficult. I think that you and your vet’s plan is outstanding with contacting a University hematologist.

If the cause of the coagulopathy is related to the immune system, then there can be numerous treatment options.

I have placed a call into an oncologist and may get some additional information for you. If he has any additional thoughts, I will post them.

Best wishes.
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Old February 19th, 2009, 10:07 AM
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THANK YOU everyone for your responses, ESPECIALLY Dr. Lee for taking time out of your day to help me. Here is the update and again, if i could get your input Dr. Lee it would be EXCEPTIONALLY helpful:
I took Saltmeat to Ohio State yesterday. it was a 5 hour drive and it took all day but they were THOROUGH. He was seen by some SERIOUS drs there, all world renouned from what i understand (at least thats what they told me at osu ) he was seen by the hematologist (this is dr. coudo, the one doing the greyhound coagulation study, that i spoke with you all about), an oncologist and a dermatologist. they ran a mountain of blood work, including a teg? i guess this is a broad spectrum coagulation test that rules out a bunch of things. this is what they said:
1) they were able to manually palpate his spleen (being an iggy he has no fat on his little body, all muscle and skin) and there were no lumps or bumps that would indicate a growth of any kind;
2) ALL blood work came back COMPLETELY NORMAL;
3) There is no sign of any bruising while at home and no bruising/hemorrhage at the draw site;
4) He shows no physical signs or chemical signs of illness AT ALL.
Their conclusion:
Saltmeat is absolutely fine and they "suggested" that (in their own words) "maybe someone was having a very bad "needle" day".

I need some serious input here. I am affraid now that perhaps my beloved animals are getting mistreated when they go into the vet and im not there or that one of the vets really has no clue what theyre doing. i hate to think this but my trust is a little blown.

i am going to meet with my vet next week regarding the outcome of my osu visit and my concerns. before i go your inputs would be GREATLY appreciated.

THANK YOU
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Old February 19th, 2009, 11:14 AM
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OMG...well, that is very interesting Have you had this vet for a long time and did he/she come recommended?

I can't speak for putting the "fear of God" into you about your poor pooches "condition" but I do know that the last time Ginger was in I asked them to do a blood test. It was not my regular vet, and this vet sent her to the back for the test and when she came back in I almost fainted for all the blood running down her back leg!!!!! My vet is the only one who has ever taken her blood and it was never an issue. This time, Holy Smokes, whoever did it sure didn't get it on the first shot. Poor pup, I would never have asked if I had known it could be so badly botched

I will read with interest others responses but bottom line is...there are always people who do the same job better than others

I am glad that your Saltmeat is fine. Sounds like he had excellent secondary care
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Old February 20th, 2009, 12:35 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by zots View Post
Their conclusion: Saltmeat is absolutely fine and they "suggested" that (in their own words) "maybe someone was having a very bad "needle" day".

I need some serious input here. I am affraid now that perhaps my beloved animals are getting mistreated when they go into the vet and im not there or that one of the vets really has no clue what theyre doing. i hate to think this but my trust is a little blown.
First of all I am glad that your pet is apparently fine.

I don't know that using the term a 'very bad "needle" day' was necessarily the best answer however. It throws the referring vet under the proverbial bus where there may not necessarily be cause to do so. Anyone that performs phlebotomy (blood collection) knows that occasionally there can be excessive bleeding. Also some breeds, i.e. sighthounds, do have thinner hair coats, lighter and thinner skin which would allow subcutaneous bleeding to look much more dramatic than in another breed of dog, i.e. chow chow.

Another piece of information that I think needs to be taken into consideration is how much of a big deal the staff and veterinarian made over the excess bruising. Had this level of subcutaneous bleeding been common place, would they have made such a big deal and brought in specialists? Or would they have just tried to play it off in the room and not bring in outside vets?

Does this mean that there is no mistreatment, either by accident or intent? I don't know, as I was not present however it seems that there was a lot of concern for Saltmeat's health from them.

Best of luck with this tough situation. Again, I am glad that Saltmeat appears to be doing well.
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