Liberty Update
After 247 days in rescue little Liberty has finally been officially adopted!!
She has gone to live permenantly with her 2 siblings Sunny and Honey ( were Picasso and Mona).
Liberty is an absolute miracle.
Around 18 weeks ago our lovely Liberty had major life threatening yet life saving surgery.
Liberty was born with a liver shunt and without surgery she would certainly not live beyond a year old.
A portosystemic shunt is an abnormal blood supply which bypasses the liver allowing toxic substances into the general circulation in the body ( basically poisoning herself) and preventing full use of the nutrients in the diet.
Many cats who undergo this surgery do not even survive the surgery let alone the recovery period.
Surgery involved opening the abdominal cavity, locating the shunting vessel which was rather a challenge as it was burried under layers of tissue and closing this vessel to re-direct its blood through the liver.
Closure of the vessel must be carried out in a slow and gradual manner. This is achieved by the placement of a cellophane band around the vessel. The band causes the gradual closure of the shunting vessel over a four to six week period.
This gradual closure allows the previously under-used blood vessels within the liver, time to develop without producing an excessively high blood pressure within the portal vein (portal hypertension).
Following the surgery the seizures stopped immediately and all the neurological symptoms disappeared.
Liberty had follow up and a scan performed by the amazing surgeon Roger Wilkinson.
The results of the scan were amazing which means Liberty will more than likely go on to lead a long and happy life without further major complications.
The surgery was 95% successful with only the tiniest drops of blood bypassing the liver. This is due to slightly increased pressure in the veins.
Thank you to every one who has supported Liberty and her lifesaving treatment. And thank you to her lovely adopters for letting Libby join her siblings.