April 2011 - Wilfred Thorp
Wilfred's Painful Wee-ing problem!
Wilfred is a handsome, 11 year old male cocker spaniel. He was seen at the beginning of April as he had been straining, very painfully to pass small amounts of urine.
After thoroughly examining Wilfred, the veterinary surgeon advised that an ultrasound scan may show up any abnormalities. Wilfred's abdomen was clipped and cleaned and the ultrasound probe was placed against his skin.
The ultrasound scan revealed 2-3 highly echogenic areas (white areas) in the bladder – with bladder stones being the most likely culprit.
Wilfred was admitted for a general anaesthetic to x-ray his bladder - this confirmed stones in his bladder. Wilfred was prepared for surgery to remove the bladder stones (as they were too big to pass through his urethra).
The veterinary surgeon removed 3 stones from Wilfred’s bladder! 
A urinary catheter which had already been inserted into Wilfred’s urethra, was flushed with saline to ensure that no stones were located in the urethra itself.
Wilfred recovered very well from the surgery and stayed overnight so that he could be administered pain relief and intravenous antibiotics. Overnight Wilfred passed urine, although he seemed very painful whilst doing this.
The day after the surgery Wilfred still seemed uncomfortable, especially when urinating (even after having intra-venous opioid pain relief). The veterinary surgeon decided to place a urinary catheter to check for any further obstructions and to allow Wilfred to urinate freely. The catheter passed into the bladder easily and a large amount of urine was passed through it, with a small amount of sediment seen. Wilfred was much brighter after this, and happily ate some of his wet urinary diet – but only if the nurses hand fed him!
Wilfred was very eager to be reunited with his owners, and moaned every time he had to go back in his kennel after a walk outside, so it was decided to send him home on oral pain relief and antibiotics.
Wilfred returned five days later for a post operative check. He was bright, urinating freely, eating and drinking.
Four days later, Wilfred came back for his final check and suture removal. He had returned to his normal self and was urinating normally.
