Update bladder stones - advice needed.

[MrWilson]

I posted 2 weeks ago about my Piggy Mr Wilson. He was diagnosed with a bladder stone, the xray showed it was in his urethra not the bladder. Vet advised us to go home with pain meds and muscle relaxers to see if he could pass it on his own.

A 2nd xray has shown the stone is still in the same place as it was 2 weeks ago, it has also shown there is a cole too if stones in one otf the ureters. My vet us now advising me to think about putting him to sleep as she thinks he may be in kidney failure and won't survive an operation.

I've found another vet who is willing to see him in the morning and decide if surgery can be done. Is there a chance he could survive this? I don't want to give up on him but I also don't want to prolong his suffering if there's no hope. I've attached the xray, you can see the large stone and the string of stones in Ureter.

Has anyone had a pig with this condition? Mr Wilson is still on pain meds but I can see he is declining daily. I just want to to the right thing for him but I can't decide what that is. Is there really no hope for my little guy?

 

[fluffysal]

I have no advice I'm afraid.
@Betsy , who's about who is best informed please.

 

[Cuddles With Cavies]

I had a boar who had a very similar case as yours. We opted for surgery and unfortunately he never recovered. I’m now in a similar case with my sow, who has two stones in her bladder. I don’t want to operate on her because of the poor recovery results but she’s also suffering with pain and infections. It very difficult. Personally, I wouldn’t opt for surgery. In my personal experience piggies just don’t handle large operations and sedations very well.

 

[Betsy]

I have no advice I'm afraid.
@Betsy , who's about who is best informed please.

Any member with a Health and Illness banner in their signature. Can't search for these members atm as I'm not able to do this on my mobile as on holiday with no access to laptop

 

[Wiebke]

I posted 2 weeks ago about my Piggy Mr Wilson. He was diagnosed with a bladder stone, the xray showed it was in his urethra not the bladder. Vet advised us to go home with pain meds and muscle relaxers to see if he could pass it on his own.

A 2nd xray has shown the stone is still in the same place as it was 2 weeks ago, it has also shown there is a cole too if stones in one otf the ureters. My vet us now advising me to think about putting him to sleep as she thinks he may be in kidney failure and won't survive an operation.

I've found another vet who is willing to see him in the morning and decide if surgery can be done. Is there a chance he could survive this? I don't want to give up on him but I also don't want to prolong his suffering if there's no hope. I've attached the xray, you can see the large stone and the string of stones in Ureter.

Has anyone had a pig with this condition? Mr Wilson is still on pain meds but I can see he is declining daily. I just want to to the right thing for him but I can't decide what that is. Is there really no hope for my little guy?

HUGS

I am ever so sorry that you are faced with such a difficult decision. Unfortunately, we cannot make that decision for you. Removing an urethral stone in boars is always a high risk operation because they have a narrower and longer urethra with an awkward inglenook (where stones tend to fetch up) compared to sows.
It makes for a very fiddly and challenging operation; especially if the stone or crystals have become embedded in the wall of the urethra. We have seen both success but sadly also quite a large number of failures on here over the years; including from very experienced vets. I wish I had better news.

All you can do is buy your boy a chance with the operation - but how much are you prepared to spend, including in sometimes considerable follow-up expenses when a recovery is not running smoothly is an added consideration. The alternative is of course heart-breaking. Because of the risk that a stone this large could block the urine flow (which is fatal once the urine backs up into the kidneys and - according to my hub, who experienced it as apost-op complication himself - extremely painful), just leaving him as he is also not an option.

We all hate these 'between a rock and a hard place' choices that we inevitably come up against sooner or later as longer term owners. There are unfortunately still stark limits on what vets can do when it comes to small furries.
Urethral stones in boars is one of them compared to urethral stones in sows or bladder stones in either gender - I have had several successfully operated piggies with either case over the years and the recovery rate without complications is a lot better.

Please sleep over it and then listen to your gut. That way it is easiest for you to make peace with it in the long term. There is unfortunately not an easy option - and, as always, there is no chance for a sneak peek into the future, so we have to make the decision blindly in good faith, which really ups the stress/guilt factor.

My thoughts are with you.