This is Tilly. Tilly is a 2 ½ year old female pug that was straining to urinate. X-rays revealed that her bladder was full of stones. Bladder stones are rock-like collections of minerals that form in the urinary bladder. They may occur as a large, single stone or as collections of stones the size of large grains of sand or gravel. Bladder stones form for a few different reasons. The most common reasons being dietary and bladder infections. The two most common symptoms of bladder stones are blood in the urine which occurs because the stones irritate and damage the bladder wall causing bleeding, and straining to urinate which occurs because the stones obstruct the flow of urine out of the bladder or inflame the bladder walls, causing pain and swelling. Large stones may cause a partial obstruction at the point where the urine leaves the bladder and enters the urethra while smaller stones may flow with the urine into the urethra and cause an obstruction there. When an obstruction occurs, the bladder cannot be emptied resulting in extreme pain, especially if pressure is applied to the abdominal wall. If the obstruction is complete, the bladder may rupture, which is a life-threatening emergency situation. Tilly’s urethra was obstructed so before it became an emergency, it was decided that surgery was in order. Prior to anesthesia, Tilly was able to pass the stones in her urethra on her own so she was no longer blocked. However, this is painful and there were still several small and large stones to come so she still went to surgery. In surgery, her bladder was emptied of all stones and flushed multiple times to assure that it was clear. Post op she was treated with pain medications to make sure her experience was as comfortable as possible. Everything went well and Tilly got to go home the next day.
Large single bladder stone.
