Meika’s Story

Meet Meika

Meika is a gorgeous 9-year-old husky who first visited us in April this year.  She was urinating bloody urine very frequently and her owners were understandably concerned. 

She was quickly diagnosed with bladder stones and her surgery was scheduled for the same week. Bladder stones are not uncommon in dogs, often they are small enough that we can use a special diet to dissolve them, however Meika’s stones would take too long to dissolve, and she would be uncomfortable for the entire time. 

Before surgery started, we took an x-ray of Meika’s bladder to find out the size of the stones and how many there were.  As you can see there was one exceptionally large stone and multiple smaller stones in Meika’s bladder, no wonder she was so uncomfortable! 

 

Meika’s Surgery

To remove the stones, we performed a surgery called a cystotomy where we open up the bladder.  It is important that all the stones are removed during this surgery, and we confirm this via feeling and x-ray.

Fortunately, we were able to quickly remove all of Meika’s stones. At her post–op check the following day Meika was a different dog, she was much happier, comfortable, and no longer urinating blood.  She has continued to do well since her surgery. 

 

Detecting Stones Early

How can we detect stones early and avoid surgery? The easiest way is with a screening urine test.  If we find any abnormalities, then we can follow up with more testing such as an ultrasound.  There are a number of things we are looking for when we do a basic urine screen, the urine concentration and pH (level of acidity) are the main things we look for when screening for bladder stones, however there is a lot more information we get that can give us an idea of the overall health of your pet.  This is not just for dogs, it is a great idea to monitor your cat’s urine as well.  Have a chat with the vet at your pet’s next health check to see if they would benefit from a screening urine test. 

 

Preventing Stones Reforming

To help prevent the stones reforming it is important to know what the stones are to tailor prevention to the specific patient. We are lucky that Hill’s will send all bladder stones removed to Minnesota in the USA for diagnosis.  There is a 1–2-month turnaround time, after which we know what the type of stone is and a recommendation on prevention.  Meika’s stones came back as mainly struvite with a calcium phosphate carbonate shell.  Prevention is almost always diet related, as is the case with Meika.  She has started on a special diet and will need to be on this for the rest of her life. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr Phillipa Bagnall and The Halifax Team