Bladder Stones

Question
I believe my Lhasa has been on the diet for 30 days.  What are
the metabolic problems your refer to.  What are the complications of
surgery?  Thanks!


Answer
Canine s/d is not complete and balanced.  It is very low in minerals, so it does not provide dietary trace minerals necessary for many enzyme systems.That is why you should only feed this for 30 days maximum.

Surgery is very straight forward. Make sure that your veterinarian has done this type of surgery before. The bladder wall is opened and the stone(s) is removed. I flush the bladder out with sterile saline under pressure through a urinary catheter to make sure that I have not left any small stones in the urethra. The bladder wall is then closed with an absorbable suture and the abdominal wall is closed.  Sometimes after surgery, the dog's bladder is inflammed and it will not fill up with as much urine as before, so there is increased frequency of urination. However, as the bladder heals, the volume it can hold increases.

As I mentioned earlier, if it is a struvite stone, then there is a urinary tract infection that has caused this and if it is left untreated, the stones can re-form.