General anaesthetic for dogs with IMT

[Karen Churchill]

Hi
Our Pippa is being treated for IMT. Her platelets are in the 300's and her dosage is being tapered. She has been havinb discharge from one of her nostrils and it is suspected that she has something lodged in her nose. A general anaesthetic is needed to check this out and flush the nose out. Antibiotics aren't doing anything. Is it safe for a dog with IMT to have GA. We might not have much choice as it needs to be investigated in case it is something more sinister but wanted to ask what people think?

[Jo CIMDA]

Hi

  It would be wise to get the steroids down to a low dose before any exploratory examination just in case they do a biopsy, as preds inhibit healing.  The other consideration is, anything like a GA  or even stress can trigger AI disease.  Having said that, you have to weigh up the pros and cons and sometimes you have to take the chance and go ahead with the investigation.  Have they been able to sample the discharge?

Jo

   

[Catherine]

What sort of discharge - bloody, watery? How long has she had it, is it all the time? Is she fine otherwise? If it is not urgent I would not rush to have Pippa put under a G.A. especially since she is still having steroids and recovering. It may make things worse with the platelets and I am not sure how much the steroids will hinder recovery.

[Karen Churchill]

Thank you Jo and Catherine.
The discharge isn't bloody and is fairly clear. She has had it about 2 weeks and it is continuous, worse at night when laying down and asleep when she doesn't like it away. The vet thinks it is likely to be a foreign body up there but isn't rushing to get it out. We are using a spray saline solution 5 times a day at present. She is absolutely fine in herself, she just keeps making sniffing noises.  In fact the last reduction in steroids has seen her pot belly start to go and she is definitely more like her normal self. She has another blood test in 2 weeks (currently on 12mg once a day). She has recently had to have sedation to remove a grass seed from her paw and that has healed well.

[Catherine]

Has Pippa been sneezing? If not may a sneeze help to clear her nostril, or would it make it worse? I would keep her out of the long grass at the moment.