From www.petplace.com:
“Chylothorax is a condition in which a characteristic type of lymph fluid called chyle accumulates in the chest cavity and causes difficulty breathing. Lymph is the fluid that is drained from tissues and functions to carry protein and cells from the tissues to the bloodstream via small vessels, known as lymphatics. When the lymph is drained from the intestines, it contains a high quantity of fat and is known as chyle. Thus, Chylothorax is a collection of chyle in the chest cavity. The accumulation of chyle in the chest cavity leads to difficulty breathing because the lungs cannot expand normally to take in oxygen.
This condition may occur in any breed of dog, but some breeds appear to have a higher than expected incidence, including Afghan hounds and Shiba Inu dogs. Afghan dogs appear to develop signs related to this disease when they are middle-aged, whereas the Shiba Inu is often less than a year of age when the condition is diagnosed.”
Wow, what a mouth full, huh?
It is also important to note that the word “Idiopathic” in medical terms basically means of “unknown origin”. So Idiopathic Chylothorax is not only difficult to treat, it is sometimes impossible to understand why it’s happening . This can be quite frustrating, but rather than focusing on the “Why is this happening?”, it was important for us when treating Koji to focus on “What can I do to help?”
For more information on what Koji’s surgery was like and what we did for him afterwards, please read “Treatment of Chylothorax” and “After Surgery”. (both blogs coming soon)
