Liver Damage?

[oscarwild]

Just wondering if anyone can shed any light on livers and liver biopsys. In July my mare took a swelling in her throat. A few weeks later bloods were done and she had high muscle and liver enzymes. She was left up at yard for weeks and weeks and had been retested every 3 weeks. Each time everything high was decreasing. (We think she ate something posionious in the field that caused it) Then the 2nd last set of bloods were almost normal except that the inflammation enzyme had gone up. But she had a doze of the poos so it could of been that. A few weeks ago she got restested again and liver enzymes had increase and bile acids increased. Vet advised a liver biopsy which has now been done and we are awaiting the results.
How long should the area be swollen where the biopsy is done and is it normally just a small bit around the wound itself that swells or can it take up a large bit if horses side? What could have caused the liver enzymes to increase this time. The horse hasnt been back out in the field it first started in. And has been in small boxrest fields or stabled since it flaired up in July. Any advice you can give me on liver and biopsy etc would be greatfully appreciated.

 

[Amstar01]

Does your horse graze any wet ground? If so, what about liver fluke? There has to be dampness because the life cycle is through a particular type of snail. It is not commonly recognised in horses but it can happen especially if grazing is shared with cattle/sheep.

 

[Box_Of_Frogs]

Watch the biopsy site carefully - one problem with liver damage is that it can affect the ability of the blood to clot properly. The swelling at the biopsy site could be an ongoing bleed under the skin. Watch for a generally bloated abdomen too, another sign of liver damage. You don't say how old the horse is, how long you've had her, whether she's been neglected in the past. A common cause of liver damage is ragwort poisoning. Ragwort poisoning is cumulative so your mare may not have been within 3 counties of a ragwort plant for all the time you've had her but if she had eaten it before you had her, then it can only take a little extra stress on the body and the liver will tip over. Did your vets say what the original swelling on the mare's neck was? Had you seen any other worrying symptoms before the swelling on the neck, eg unexplained weight loss, loss of appetite, lethargy, depression? The problem with liver damage is that you don't see any signs until it is pretty far advanced. But the liver can "regrow" as long as it isn't ragwort poisoning. The only way to know if it's ragwort is to do a biopsy so when you get the results back you'll at least know what you're dealing with. In the meantime, to support a damaged or sick liver feed a very low protein diet, little-and-often meals, include Milk Thistle, include Yea Sac too, never, ever feed oils or conditioning mixes (high in oils). Good luck.

 

[oscarwild]

Thanks guys.
Amstar01-No she hasnt been grazing on wet ground. She doesnt get out when its wet as the boxrest field will get b******* up. And non of the land is grazed by cattle or sheep.
B_O_F-Thanks. She was checked to make sure she clots her blood before they did the biopsy. She 12 years old and I have had her for just coming onto a year now. Not negleted as far as I am aware. She's a good doer TB. No we dont know what caused the original swelling but we think it may have been a reaction to something she has eaten (possibly what started this off)
Here is a pic of the swelling

Just before the first lot of bloods were taken I noticed that she was lethargic when ridden. And sweating heavily. The lethargy has gotten better over time. But we run flat after 30 mins instead of 15-20 mins. She doesnt puff or pant like she unfit just runs flat. She been off work again since last bloods came back.
during this time she was also allergy tested and came back showing allergy to outside pollens of grass and all barley, wheat, rye etc and a couple feed allergies. So she had a diet change and is now on low protein diet and doing well. She has dropped a little weight but still looks good. Could say she holds weight very well. lol.
The biopsy was done 7 days ago and there is still quite a swelling. Not concerned about it but will pass this pic onto my vet so he can monitor it himself. I drew around the swelling last night to keep an eye on it. Think it slightly over the line this morning as you can perhaps see from the pic. Forget the random line she moved. haha.

 

[oscarwild]

Right well biopsy results are back and they show that the liver is good. So altho good very frustrating as enzymes are high and shows not alot to go on.
So it could be caused by the allergies that she has. As she has tested positive to grasses etc. The new haylage has caused a few issues which have settled down since going back to hay. So we are looking into the vaccines for the allergies and get more info from them to see what next step is going to be.