Tuesday, November 27, 2012

1195. British bulldog's cauliflower stone surgery

Nov 27, 2012
Yesterday morning, I mentored a bladder stone surgery on the female British bulldog, 4 years old. The dog is OK today.

Eats like a horse, the owner said. Home-cooked food and dry food. Yet, a big stone. The dog was on antibiotics and S/D diet for a week.  "Can you guarantee the stone will dissolve by S/D diet?" the owner was tired of having to clean up the dribbling urine every few seconds. "My dog passes greyish urine yesterday, like ash." I said I doubt it. "So, it is better to operate. She has lost a lot of weight. Much lighter now."

I required a blood test and urine analysis on the day of surgery. This had been done before, my associate said. "It is best to monitor the latest situation."

SURGERY
Dr Daniel operated. I assisted.
I got syringe of urine direct from the bladder for urine analysis. Dark red brown urine.
Incision from apex of bladder 1.5 cm.
Thick bladder wall of 5 mm. Bloody.
Suturing. Continuous on mucosa, then 2 layers of inverting. 1 layer could be OK but I advised two layers.

BLOOD TEST RESULTS -Nov 26, 2012 on day of surgery
Total WCC 11.5 (6-19). N=89%, L=10%, M=1%, E=0, B=0
RBC and platelets normal. Urea and creatiine below normal.

URINE ANALYSIS- Nov 26, 2012 direct from the bladder
Red turbid, pH 8.0, SG 1.019, Protein 3+, Blood 4+, WBC >2250, RBC >2250
Crystals Triple phosphate occasioal, bacteria 3+
I did not request an antibiotic sensisitivity test to reduce costs.








Thursday, November 22, 2012

1194. Follow up. The Schnauzer vomits again - bladder stones & kidney stones

Thur Nov 22, 2012


Vomited one month ago. Had kidney and bladder stones. I removed bladder stones, analysed as struvites. No vomiting for past month. On last Sat, came in as dog vomited. Warded. Vomited several hours after eating. Why?

Blood-borne infection. Urine has bacteria. Amorphous urate 2+. What's the cause and the solution?

X-rays today.



Spoke to a vet more senior than me. He said that very rarely did he encounter kidney stones. He had operated on one. "Very painful for the dog, need to give pain-killers post-op".

"Kidney stones occur in 4% of urinary stone cases, according to one Australian specialist vet presenting the SVA 2012 seminar," I said. "This vet said that if the incision of the kidney to remove the stone is more than 50% of the kidney length, the kidney would not function normally."

The X-ray showed the kidney stones to be more distinct. The dog had been on canned S/D diet for the past month and no other food. A lot of gas in the intestines. No stones in the bladder on V/D view. Is there any stone inside the ureter? This could partially obstruct the ureter and cause pain, nausea and vomiting hours after eating. The dog still eats and appears active. IV drips and antibiotics for the past 2 days. Wait and see.

Urine analysis revealed amorphous urates 2+ in urine pH 6.0, USG 1.017, blood 3+, bacteria 2+

Were the kidney stones of the left kidney URATES instead of struvites? It is hard to tell. Very rare cases of kidney stones seen by me for the past 40 years of practice.


UPDATES & MORE IMAGES AT WEBPAGE:

http://www.sinpets.com/F5/20121108vomiting_kidney_bladder_struvites_schnauzer_toapayohvets.htm

1193. Pus in the left eye - dwarf hamster








5759. Pus in an eye for the past 2 weeks

5760. No pus in an eye after 20 days of treatment




5761. No pus in an eye after 20 days of treatment

5762. Overview



Pus oozed out from the swollen conjunctiva. The whole left eye was badly infected. How to resolve this problem? Cutting up the abscess would be a calculated risk as the hamster might get blinded. Conservative treatment with eye drops and nursing needed 23 days. The hamster went home to a delighted little girl.

Webpage at:
http://www.sinpets.com/F6/20121123hamster_purulent_conjunctivitis_toapayohvets.htm

1192. Email query on tick control collar


On Wed, Nov 21, 2012 at 3:35 PM, Nicky @gmail.com> wrote:



Hi,



I have a golden retriever who is 4 years old and weighs 23kg. He is infested by ticks currently and is using the product "certifect". I would like to ask if I can use both the "Preventick Tick Collar" and "Certifect" together or do i have to use the 2 products separately?



Thank you very much.



Best regards,

----------------------------------------------

I am Dr Sing from Toa Payoh Vets. Certifect can be used separately. I have no knowledge of what "Preventtick Tick Collar" is as I don't use it.






Wednesday, November 21, 2012

1191. Guinea pig from Chua Chu Kang made resp.noises for the past 5 days

Wed Nov 21, 2012

At 7.30 pm, by appointment, the mother and two adult daughters brought the guinea pig, female, 4 years to consult me. "She makes noises like an engine for the past 5 days," the daughter said. "Now, she would not eat the pellets but just the vegetables. She would lie on the litter and not be moving. Liked to bite her lower part."

I checked the heart and lungs. Normal. No nasal or ocular discharge. Large ovoid shaped pellets passed. The coat was badly matted.  The "noises" could be an upper respiratory infection or pain as the guinea pig tries to "de-matt" her clumps of coat in her back half.

I recommended Agnes who does guinea pig grooming. "How much?" the daughters asked.
Agnes said: "$40.00" but she was not free till the weekend. She explained to me she had to take care of her children. It is school holidays and she had some programmes. She had to fit in work-life balance with a brood of five children.

As for the guinea pig, the mother said she would come on Friday as she would be working. I said I would be in Malacca on a "Peranakan heritage tour" and so the older daughter said she would bring in the guinea pig on Thursday morning. She would wait while my assistant would clip off the coat and de-matt the hair.

The family had shifted from Ang Mo Kio to Chua Choa Kang in West Singapore and had taken so much trouble to come to consult me. Veterinary medicine is a very personalised service for many pet owners. The vet must stay the course for years as many younger vets come and go or work in various clinics and so could not be available.    

1190. Follow up on Schnauzer with kidney & bladder stones

Wed Nov 21, 2012

The Schnauzer came back on Saturday as she had been vomiting the past 2 days. Blood tests revealed a high white cell count and urine test showed amorphous urates 2+ , blood, and white cells. The dog was on IV drip and antibiotics on day 1. She did not vomit. Ate food and vomited again yesterday.

It is possible that the kidney stones had caused this urinary tract infection. What is the solution? Cut out the stones from the kidney? Presently, a lot of pain in the abdomen. Bacterial infection is treated first and let the dog stabilise. X-rays will be needed.

1189. The Schnauzer scratches all over his body. Why?

Wednesday, November 21, 2012


1189. The Schnauzer scratches all over his body. Why?



Skin diseases are most common in practice. There are many causes and one of them is a lack of grooming as Singapore pet owners are harassed by the fast-paced city life.



In this 7-year-old male Miniature Schnauzer, his whole body, limbs and backside are itchy. The Schnauzer had a good coat until recently. He had not been to the groomer for some time. "My wife used to take care of him," the man in his late 40s told me that the dog had a good coat previously. The wife was no longer around and the dog developed generalised itchiness in the body, limbs, backside and ears. Hair loss over parts of the backside and legs.



A urinary tract infection was evident from the presence of blood and bacteria. The X-ray did not show any radio-dense stones. "There could be prostatitis," Dr Daniel discussed the case with me and had spoken to the owner about neutering. "Spermatozoa +++" was present in the urine analysis. This lab finding does occur and my hypothesis is that the male dog displayed hypersexuality. Neutering would certainly resolve his behavioral problem.



I noted that the prepuce was inflamed. It was possible that this male dog had relieved his pain from an inflamed or enlarged prostate. For some male dogs, neutering would prevent much prostate problems of inflammation and infection at the older age.



The dog has an excellent appetite as you can see lots of the dry dog food in the stomach and intestines.




A follow-up one month later would be advised.