Wednesday, July 26, 2017

3109. A difference of veterinary opinion. A hamster has hairless backside and ear area

My opinion may differ from another vet. This hamster had a right ear wart of 4 mm across and kept scratching his ear. His left backside is bald. So, I advised ear wart removal and lateral ear canal resection.

The other vet was the opinion that ear irrigation would do and it would be cheaper. However, the owner consulted me one month after the other vet's treatment as the itchy ear had not resolved. The left ear also had hairless bump and left ear itchiness.

Treatment:
Anaesthesia. Both lateral ear canal resected.  The right ear wart at the entrance to the ear's vertical canal was excise3d.

A follow up 8 weeks later will be good. If the backside and ear area hairs re-grow fully, the outcome is a success.







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


 

Monday, July 24, 2017

3108. A 10-year-old Beagle passes blood in the urine and has seizures.

Jul 23, 2017


X rays show "sand" in the bladder. 
The Beagle has seizures when brought downstairs for exercise recently.  



3107. A 12-year-old male Miniature Schnauzer has difficulty peeing

Air contrast bladder X-rays show no stones and no inflamed bladder wall.
Dog likely to have urinary tract infection.





Miniature Schnauzers are very prone to urinary stones, but in this case, there was none.
The owner had been feeding Royal Canin Urinary S/O, hence preventing struvite stone formation.
Follow up 7 days later, on the diagnosis of cystitis.
The dog lis back to normal now. 

Thursday, July 20, 2017

3104. Can the large urethral stones be removed via the bladder?

"Stones are large and inside the os penile urethra," I said to the senior vet. "Can they be flushed back into the bladder and removed via the bladder?"

A few hundred surgeries had been performed by the senior vet.
"Yes," he said confidently. "It can be done."

Urinary cathether + 20 ml syringe =
general anaesthesia
The syringe of water pushed the 2 stones into the bladder. They were removed.

Stones were about 5 mm x 5 mm and rough.
To be sent for analysis.

Shih Tzu is Ok and will go home on Day 3. 

3103 A Maltese has closed pyometra for one year

Dog in distress, panting.  Vaginal discharge over one year.
Stabilised with furesemide and IV drip for 1 day before spay.







One uterine horn
is bursting with pus. Unusual case.
The other one had partial pus swelling.











The dog had heart disease which gave rise to coughing without phlegm. Heart medication was given 24 hours before surgery. Furesemide IV was given. The dog was spayed the next day and survived. She went home on Day 3 and is OK.

Advice:
Do not delay spaying your female dog if she has slight vaginal discharge over the past year. This would be closed pyometra, with the cervix closed. So pus cannot discharge out normally and after one year, as in this case, the dog's right terine horn was about to rupture from overdistension with pus.. 

3102. An 18-month-old male hamster has swollen abdomen - Abdominocentesis

Within 7 days, abdominal distension. Active and was eating till yesterday. Consulted 2 vets. I advised abdominocentesis under gas anaesthesia, which is risky.

Body Weight  64 g
Body weight after aspirating >4 ml pinkish fluid from abdomen  54 g.
Lots of serosanguinous fluid flowed out. Palpated a solid mass or cyst 8mm x 8m
Hamster is much loved. Prognosis poor. May live for few more days unless the mass is not cancerous.