Daisy’s Story
This is an account of Border Terrier Daisy’s experience of GBM (Gall Bladder Mucocele), a condition that Borders are known to be predisposed to. GBM is a potentially life-threatening condition that statistics have shown Border Terriers and a few other breeds have been found to make up a disproportionate percentage of cases.
Daisy’s owner, Jo has written a personal account of what happened to Daisy. Jo has been a supporter of Border Terrier Lifeline from our early days and when so she was told that her Border had GBM, she was already aware of the condition, never thinking that her own dog could become victim to it too.
Jo writes:
“The lovely Daisy is a happy, super-friendly little soul and has been my constant companion for the past 9 years.
In March 2023, I became concerned when Daisy was lethargic and not her usual cheerful self. I took her to my vet, Bea Newman at Windlesham Village Vets in Surrey, where Daisy had an ultrasound scan, which showed there was a splenic mass. Surgery followed to remove the spleen and its two tumours! Fortunately, during the operation, the vet noticed Daisy’s gall bladder contained sludge and a possible mucocele. Daisy was prescribed the drug Desolit to help with the gall blader mucocele while we waited for the results of the spleen biopsy. Thankfully the tumours were benign.
Focused shifted to how to deal with the gall bladder mucocele and after much discussion it was decided to continue with the Desolit treatment and to monitor the gall bladder via follow-up scans. Unfortunately, these subsequent scans showed no change and Daisy was referred to specialist vets, Lumbry Park in Alton, Hampshire for further investigation.
Daisy spent a day at Lumbry Park where specialist soft tissue vet, Pieter Defauw performed a range of comprehensive tests, including a high-res scan of the gall bladder. The results showed there to be “moderate gall bladder wall thickening associated with mucosal nodules and moderate to marked amount of sludge.” I was given two options – continue to monitor every 3 months until it was deemed the mucocele was larger or have the gall bladder removed now. I decided to take the immediate surgical route, as although such a complex operation does carry some risk, Daisy was otherwise very fit, healthy and relatively young.
She came through the surgery really well, returning home after two days and was back to her old self after a week or so!
It’s very worrying to learn that Border Terriers seem to be prone to GBM and I feel extremely fortunate that Daisy’s was discovered, albeit an incidental finding, and dealt with before it became serious or indeed life threatening. I hope increased awareness of the condition means owners can watch for symptoms and even suggest GBM to their vets as a possible cause. “
Daisy 7 Days after surgery resting up
3 Weeks after surgery, enjoy a seat on the table.