Ventral oedema secondary to liver disease

[olop]

Does anyone have any experience of the above?

my 20 year old gelding had routine bloods done as part of a health check a month ago and they found raised liver enzymes. I was told they were not high enough to warrant medication and was advised to put him on milk thistle and re-test in three months.

last Friday he has presented with ventral oedema on the right side of his abdomen just near to where the girth goes, not painful but he’s lame in right canter (I’m not riding him at the moment I loosed schooled him today). Vet came and gave him a steroid injection but the lump if anything has got bigger.

spoke to vet today and she wants me to leave alone until end of this week at that point she wants to re-test.

had anyone got any experience of this? Is there anything I can do to get rid of it or is it a case of re-testing to see if the liver enzymes are getting worse? I’m presuming the lameness is related seeing where the lump is but he’s sound in trot.

was just after any experiences really.

 

[Fransurrey]

No experience in horses, but I did have a cat that presented with ascites in advanced stages of liver disease. I know that's the case with people, too, so I would assume it's getting worse, sadly.

 

[olop]

Thank you, I did wonder. He seems quite happy in himself and you’d never know there was anything wrong.

 

[brighteyes]

Are you sure it's not a fly bite? I have had one present with a spectacular, unilateral ventral swelling which pitted. Took a few days to dissipate and spread before disappearing.

 

[PapaverFollis]

My old girl got ventral oedema on the regular. Just used to leave it alone and it would go away. Never tested liver function but she lived a good couple of years after they started appearing and was PTS with a colic that was not, as far as I'm aware, liver failure. I know of at least one other older horse that got then as I think he's still going in his late 20s. I would just leave well alone, give milk thistle and re-test the liver as advised.

 

[olop]

Vet is now coming tomorrow to do bloods as unfortunately it’s just getting larger and larger. It’s definitely not a fly bite. It’s almost covering his entire abdomen underneath now poor boy.