Sadie, a 10 year old female spayed dachshund mix, presented to PEC for straining to urinate. She had been treated for a urinary tract infection 2 weeks prior with her regular veterinarian.
On exam, Sadie had a very large turgid bladder and a stone could be palpated in her urethra on rectal exam. Sadie had radiographs taken which confirmed the stone in her urethra causing an obstruction as well as multiple stones in her bladder.
Sadie was sedated so that a urinary catheter could be passed and push the stone back into the bladder so she would be able to urinate.
Leaving an animal with a complete urinary obstruction can result in life threatening electrolyte abnormalities within hours so the obstruction had to be dealt with on an emergent basis. Fortunately bloodwork on Sadie showed that she did not yet have kidney value elevations or electrolyte abnormalities.
Sadie’s owner opted to have cystotomy surgery done at PEC to have the stones removed from her bladder to prevent further urinary obstructions. Sadie was anesthetized and placed on oxygen plus an inhalant anesthetic. She had IV fluids running during surgery. She had blood pressure, EKG, pulse oximetry, heart rate, and respiratory rate monitored continuously while she was under anesthesia. Sadie’s surgery went very well and many stones were removed from her bladder and the bladder was sutured closed. Sadie recovered from her surgery well.
Within a day after surgery, Sadie was comfortable and was eating and was able to go home on pain medication and antibiotics. A urine culture later revealed a urinary tract infection which probably helped form the stones. The stones were submitted to a lab for analysis so that Sadie could be placed on an appropriate diet to prevent recurrence.
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