• Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

Boar With Trapped Bladder Stone

Status
Not open for further replies.
alpacasqueak

alpacasqueak

Forum Donator 2022/23
Joined
Jul 21, 2013
Messages
9,668
Reaction score
24,542
Points
1,925
Location
Warwickshire
Hi everyone. Not been on in ages but had a bit of a mad day yest with my beautiful 4yr old boy Rupert and could do with some advice!
He was straining to go to the toilet in the morning and was in pain so got him to my local vets where he had 2 X-rays and an ultrasound, he had a bladder stone stuck in his urethra the poor lad. His bladder was huge and obviously wasn't able to wee. Was offered to choice to PTS or an op to cut his willy and pull it out (they'd tried pushing in both directions but wasn't shifting).
Went for the op of course and thankfully all went well.
He's now left with a hole which I've got to keep as clean as possible. I've already had to clean it of hay that was stuck as soon as I woke today so worrying the extra clean thing might be hard!
Am I best just to leave it alone and deal with hay and things when they happen? Or to clean it?
He's also on 0.4ml baytril once daily, does this sound right? Not my preferred piggy vet but was an emergency so just want to make sure all ok for him.
Thanks for any advice, sorry a bit long!
 
I think I would actively try to keep it clean. Did the vet suggest anything in particular? If not, warm salty water should do the trick. I'm assuming that you need to extrude the penis to see the wound? Look at bathing it 2-3 times a day until it looks like it has knitted together and keep a close eye out for infection. I think you made the right decision for your lad. Hopefully he'll make a full recovery and be back on form soon.
 
alpacasqueak said:
Hi everyone. Not been on in ages but had a bit of a mad day yest with my beautiful 4yr old boy Rupert and could do with some advice!
He was straining to go to the toilet in the morning and was in pain so got him to my local vets where he had 2 X-rays and an ultrasound, he had a bladder stone stuck in his urethra the poor lad. His bladder was huge and obviously wasn't able to wee. Was offered to choice to PTS or an op to cut his willy and pull it out (they'd tried pushing in both directions but wasn't shifting).
Went for the op of course and thankfully all went well.
He's now left with a hole which I've got to keep as clean as possible. I've already had to clean it of hay that was stuck as soon as I woke today so worrying the extra clean thing might be hard!
Am I best just to leave it alone and deal with hay and things when they happen? Or to clean it?
He's also on 0.4ml baytril once daily, does this sound right? Not my preferred piggy vet but was an emergency so just want to make sure all ok for him.
Thanks for any advice, sorry a bit long!
Click to expand...

Please keep him on vetbed bedding, clean towels or fleece, which you change 2-3 times daily until the wound has healed closed. Give the hay in a bowl or a little low box that is too small for him to sit in. Disinfect with Saline solution either from the pharmacy or made at home by stirring 1-2 teaspoons of salt into 1 pint/500 ml of boiled, cooled water.

Glad that all has gone well. Here are our post-op tips: Tips For Post-operative Care
 
Do you mean there is a hole in his wound or they done a cysto op on him which leaves a hole for him to wee out of?

This is usually only done in extreme circumstances and if the penis itself has been badly damaged beyond repair. However usually they would at least insert a catheter up his urethra and try to push the stone back into the bladder where they can remove it before resorting to that.

The baytril is probably a preventative measure what with him having an open wound. Make sure u give probiotics 1-2 hours after each antibiotic dose to prevent him getting an upset tummy. Examples include pro-c from pets at home, avipro plus online or fireplex from the vet.

I'd weigh him daily to make sure he is maintaining his weight and syringe feed if necessary to stabilise his weight.

Keep the would clean with cooled boiled salt water and pat dry.

You are probably better lining his cage with vet bed with puppy pads underneath (vetbed will ensure he does not get wet anywhere on his underneath) and put his hay in a holder or rack so he doesn't lay in it. Keep it low down for now though, just stuffed into something to keep it together, so he isn't stretching up too much what with him having a wound.

All the best x
 
image.webp Thanks for all the replies so quickly! And all the great advice.
He's on fleece blankets at the moment, scrubbed the cage before he came home last night and stuck them in so I'll be changing them as frequently as poss. The vet didn't suggest anything to clean it with but will be easier for me to go for salty water.
My other pig Jess had a mammary gland cyst and op in April so had to be pretty vigilant then too but his is obviously an open wound.
As you can see from the pic it's a hole that he'll be weeing through until it heals (op did have a name but can't remember!). He'd just weed everywhere on blanket next to me which is why looking a bit moist!
 
alpacasqueak said:
View attachment 56869 Thanks for all the replies so quickly! And all the great advice.
He's on fleece blankets at the moment, scrubbed the cage before he came home last night and stuck them in so I'll be changing them as frequently as poss. The vet didn't suggest anything to clean it with but will be easier for me to go for salty water.
My other pig Jess had a mammary gland cyst and op in April so had to be pretty vigilant then too but his is obviously an open wound.
As you can see from the pic it's a hole that he'll be weeing through until it heals (op did have a name but can't remember!). He'd just weed everywhere on blanket next to me which is why looking a bit moist!
Click to expand...

Did they say for sure the hole is meant to heal ? Because he is weeing through it means there is an opening in the urethra at this point.. I was under the impression this is usually done if the rest of the urethra (the part that goes down the penis) is permanently damaged therefore isn't just a temporary thing.

I'd bathe his tummy in the salt water too (with cotton pads) to prevent urine scalding. Pat dry and apply a layer of Vaseline to his tummy to create a barrier (ofcourse avoid the hole at all times).

Poor baby. I'd definately see a vet about long term management as it doesn't sound like the vet that done the op has explained things properly
 
The vet said would take a few days for it to heal and close up and he'd pee as normal then if no problems. The vet stayed late to deal with Ruperts op and get him back to me so think was desperate to get home to be honest and didn't explain as much about aftercare as prob should have.
I had my other pigs op done at Cat and Rabbit Care Clinic in northampton where my chinchilla also goes for her teeth so could always take him there if I'm worried.
Thanks for the advice, will give him a clean now and get some Vaseline on.
 
image.webp And here's the offender!
They called after an hour and said it was well and truly stuck, couldn't move it to his bladder or down the penis (with catheters etc) which is why I had to go for the op. They couldn't even squeeze any pee out of the bladder by hand when first went in which was why such an emergency.
Hoping I made the right choice and I've not caused him more problems now. He seems quite alert and eating, pooping and peeing which I'm very happy about!
 
alpacasqueak said:
View attachment 56873 And here's the offender!
They called after an hour and said it was well and truly stuck, couldn't move it to his bladder or down the penis (with catheters etc) which is why I had to go for the op. They couldn't even squeeze any pee out of the bladder by hand when first went in which was why such an emergency.
Hoping I made the right choice and I've not caused him more problems now. He seems quite alert and eating, pooping and peeing which I'm very happy about!
Click to expand...

No sorry, wasn't insinuating u made a mistake at all :-) sounds like it certainly wasn't budging hence their need for this op. If there's a vet you know to be excellent then I'd have them sent his notes and deal
With his aftercare.

Hoping for a smooth recovery xx
 
Thanks so much for advice and kind words.
Hopefully all heals well and he can get back to his lovely happy self, being bossed around by his wife!
 
Sorry I'm a pain but another quick question after reading up!

I'm wondering if after the op and bladder flushing he had I should maybe give him something like Cystophan to help his bladder recover a bit?
I've got some here as my cat had cystitis earlier in the year so was having them for a couple of months after.
Thanks.
 
I had my Bumble on cystophan for cats daily as he suffered from bladder stones - filtered water, a low calcium diet and low calcium nuggets will also be needed - my guinea pig specialist vet also keeps guinea herself and she told me to feed mine on Vetcare multimodal guinea pig food from VetUk.
 
Great, thanks for the advice.
He's been on Burgess since I adopted him as my female's pretty picky with pellets but will definitely give those a go. And will be a low calcium everything else as don't want anymore of these horrible incidents with either of my piggies!
 
Goodness that stone is huge, poor little chap!
My Rosie struggles with bladder sediment.
I give her bottled water (live in west yorkshire so tap water is hard).
Timothy hay is less in calcium so she only has that.
95% of the time I give watery veg celery, pepper, cucumber ect. Avoid dark greens like broccoli was some advice given by a previous vet.
Hope he feels better soon x
 
alpacasqueak said:
Hi everyone. Not been on in ages but had a bit of a mad day yest with my beautiful 4yr old boy Rupert and could do with some advice!
He was straining to go to the toilet in the morning and was in pain so got him to my local vets where he had 2 X-rays and an ultrasound, he had a bladder stone stuck in his urethra the poor lad. His bladder was huge and obviously wasn't able to wee. Was offered to choice to PTS or an op to cut his willy and pull it out (they'd tried pushing in both directions but wasn't shifting).
Went for the op of course and thankfully all went well.
He's now left with a hole which I've got to keep as clean as possible. I've already had to clean it of hay that was stuck as soon as I woke today so worrying the extra clean thing might be hard!
Am I best just to leave it alone and deal with hay and things when they happen? Or to clean it?
He's also on 0.4ml baytril once daily, does this sound right? Not my preferred piggy vet but was an emergency so just want to make sure all ok for him.
Thanks for any advice, sorry a bit long!
Click to expand...
alpacasqueak said:
Hi everyone. Not been on in ages but had a bit of a mad day yest with my beautiful 4yr old boy Rupert and could do with some advice!
He was straining to go to the toilet in the morning and was in pain so got him to my local vets where he had 2 X-rays and an ultrasound, he had a bladder stone stuck in his urethra the poor lad. His bladder was huge and obviously wasn't able to wee. Was offered to choice to PTS or an op to cut his willy and pull it out (they'd tried pushing in both directions but wasn't shifting).
Went for the op of course and thankfully all went well.
He's now left with a hole which I've got to keep as clean as possible. I've already had to clean it of hay that was stuck as soon as I woke today so worrying the extra clean thing might be hard!
Am I best just to leave it alone and deal with hay and things when they happen? Or to clean it?
He's also on 0.4ml baytril once daily, does this sound right? Not my preferred piggy vet but was an emergency so just want to make sure all ok for him.
Thanks for any advice, sorry a bit long!
Click to expand...
Aw best of luck to you and your pig! I had a similar problem with my guinea Ollie. He had a very large stone and we scheduled a surgery, but three days before it he was crying loudly and wasn't eating. We took him to the vet and they found the stone had been lodged in the urethra. His bladder was full with pee but only 5% could get through because of the big stone which was very painful. They said it was an emergency and they could either put him to sleep to end his suffering or rush him to the vet for an emergency surgery. The only surgeon on call was not familiar with guinea surgery so we opted to put him to sleep. I'm glad your pig is doing well and I wish him the best of luck with his recovery''
 
Aw best of luck to you and your pig! I had a similar problem with my guinea Ollie. He had a very large stone and we scheduled a surgery, but three days before it he was crying loudly and wasn't eating. We took him to the vet and they found the stone had been lodged in the urethra. His bladder was full with pee but only 5% could get through because of the big stone which was very painful. Since no pee could get through his kidneys were shutting down and by the night he would be toxic and die. They said it was an emergency and they could either put him to sleep to end his suffering or rush him to the vet for an emergency surgery. The only surgeon on call was not familiar with guinea surgery so we opted to put him to sleep. I'm glad your pig is doing well and I wish him the best of luck with his recovery!

#16
 
image.webp Thanks so much, I'm a worrier and felt so bad as I'd caused it and he was in pain.
Think I've become a bit complacent with the green veg and I'll be stopping that.
I do live in a hard water area so will be getting some bottled water for now, will then be getting something to filter the water, bank balance a bit low at the moment after vet bill!
Although he was obv in a lot of pain I really felt had to go for the op, not just for me and him but his cage mate Jess as they're inseparable. Take him out of the cage without her and she sounds like she's being murdered! She'd be lost without him!
(He's on the left of pic, just gorgeous!)
Sorry to hear about your piggy, I had to make decision to put my old chap Sheepy to sleep after he'd gone through a lot (a few yrs ago and everyone on here was great) and you feel so guilty.

Thanks a lot, he seems ok, just a bit quiet but the op was only at 6pm on thurs so can imagine still very sore bless him. And think he's sick of the sight of me with all the prodding and poking!
 
A massive thanks to everyone and all your great advice and kind words after Rupert's op!
We've been for our second check up post op and he's been signed off as done so well in his recovery!

He's almost completely healed, still a little sore but the wound healed brilliantly and barely visible, very pleased!

He's been only having low calcium veg, bottled water, Timothy hay and has just started on the Vetcare Multimodal pig food as suggested by TAN.

So a massive thank you again! x
 
Oh and sorry, forgot he's also been having Cystophan to help with his bladder! Not very keen on them but hopefully will also help!
 
Don't worry if he's not a fan of the multimodal food - it takes a while for them to get used to it - I used to catch Bumble eating it when he thought I wasn't looking, as he preferred the "bad " nuggets - they can live on a diet of fresh hay and veggies quite happily anyway,
 
Yes at the moment he's not too interested! But will keep giving them and hope he changes his mind!

Am a bit upset that last night he had rather wet poos, I weighed him as had done the previous night and he'd lost around 40g and this morning another 30!

I syringe fed last night and gave him 'poo soup' and this morning poos much better. I've syringe fed again this am and he's been munching on a bit of cardboard. Still quite perky and was eager to have veg at the side of cage when I got up but obviously something going on.

I'm waiting for a phone call from the vet but a bit worried!
Hoping just a funny tummy from all the meds recently but got a feeling may be a uti or something worse.

Oh these piggies do like to worry us!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top