Therefore, I will recommend surgery only if the risk associated with surgery is less than the risk of continuing with medical management. There is always a small risk the dog may not make it through anesthesia/surgery, is permanently worse, or never improves.
1 The blood tests most frequently used for liver disease are the aminotransferases (alanine aminotransferase or ALT and aspartate aminotransferase or AST). 2  Normal levels of ALT ranges from about 7-56 units/liter, and 10-40units/liters for AST.
Liver function tests or LFTs are blood tests designed to determine how well your liver is working. The concentrations of several liver enzymes in your blood, including alanine aminotransferase, serve as good indicators of liver damage. High levels of alanine aminotransferase usually indicate a damaged liver.