I Am The Owner Of A 2 Year Old English Bulldog. Last Year His Urethra Prolapsed And …
I am the owner of a 2 year old English Bulldog. Last year his urethra prolapsed and he received a purse string suture and was neutered at the pet ER in Bel Air. The issue resolved itself and he had been doing well until this last week when the urethra prolapsed again. We took him through the Towson pet ER so he could see a surgical specialist. They evaluated him and suggested surgery. After surgery they sent him home to recover and stressed the importance of him staying calm. We stayed by his side, even staying home from work, to ensure that he didn’t do anything to distrupt the healing. We kept him in a play pen and carried him up and down the stairs to potty. Two days after the surgery (and lots of bloody laundry later) we noticed that he was extremely uncomfortable even while on the pain and sedative meds. We also noticed the protrusion of his urethra tissue. We took him back to the surgeon and they confirmed that the urethra has prolapsed and they have recommended that the surgery be performed for a second time (tomorrow). We have ruled out the obvious contributing factors that may cause pressure such as stones, uti, etc. Any thoughts for treatment options moving forward? Are we missing anything? I just want our little guy to start feeling well again! Thank you.
Amber
3 Responses
Comments
Greyhound With Chronic Hookworms
Treatment Cost (USD): $216.00
Dorie came in to see me as a walk-in emergency on Sunday. She is a 3 year old happy, healthy Greyhound. She was rescued from off the track about 1.5 years ago. When she first came to see me (for her new patient examination) we did an exam, gave her a microchip, reviewed her vaccine history and sent out a fecal sample to the lab. We send out a fecal (I feel it is imperative to send these to a lab and not do an at home test or do in the vet office as the lab gets better yields AND can help with issues like hers). She came back positive (3 plus A LOT!) for hookworms.
Dorie was treated after her first visit with us and has been fine since. SHe has been on monthly flea & tick (credelio) and heartworm prevention (Interceptor Plus).
Until last Sunday when she arrived back at my veterinary office with diarrhea.
Every pet with diarrhea should have a fecal exam done.. every one. Missing the easy to diagnose is unacceptable in my opinion. I know lots of people dont want to spend (although I more often hear them use the word "waste" money or diagnostics, but I always say missing the most obvious and often very likely is just bad medicine. Start at the basics; diet, inappropriate food/treats/etc indescretion, and parasites for diarrhea if the pet is otherwise healthy (puppies I worry about stress, food, parasites and PARVO!).
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Canine Neuter And Umbilical Hernia Repair Surgery, Meet Beau And Baxter. Brothers With The Same Surgery, Same Day!
Treatment Cost (USD): $357.00
Beau (black) and Baxter (brown) are brothers. They are 8 months old and their parents wanted to neuter them to try to help the urine marking, aggression which can sometimes occur with brothers, and surgically correct their umbilical hernias.
The hernias were found on physical exam with the veterinarian who gave them all of their puppy vaccines. hernias can be small and benign to large, severe and in need of immediate (or as soon as possible) surgical intervention. The severe hernias allow abdominal contents (usually intestines) to "slip" out of the abdomen. If this happens, and, if the intestines stop working, strangulate, dilate, or twist (torse) it can be life-threatening. For Baxter and Beau the hernia was small, (about 1/2 inch) but a pinkie finger could go into it, and the fat coming out of it could be pushed back into the abdomen. It is best to fix these and always spay/neuter as this is a congenital issue that can be passed on to the offspring.
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Feline Spay (OHE) In River, A Domestic Shorthair
Treatment Cost (USD): $188.00
River is a 9 month old domestic shorthair cat who presented for a spay surgery (OHE, or ovariohysterectomy)
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Feline Spay (OHE) In A Domestic Shorthair: Lemon’s Story
Treatment Cost (USD): $188.00
Lemon is an approximately 2 year old domestic shorthair cat who showed up as a stray at her owner's home. Shortly after arriving, she gave birth to a litter of 4 kittens. Lemon's owner decided to keep and care for her, so the decision was made to spay Lemon so she doesn't have more kittens. At Lemon's first exam appointment, it was noted that she had some enlarged mammary tissue.
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Indie’s Story: Spay Surgery (OHE) In A Pembroke Welsh Corgi
Treatment Cost (USD): $522.00
Indie is a 9 month old Pembroke Welsh Corgi who presented for a spay procedure (OHE, or ovariohysterectomy.)
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Spay Surgery (OHE) In A Shih Tzu/Bichon Mix: Alyse’s Story
Treatment Cost (USD): $424.89
Alyse is a 9 month old Shih Tzu/Bichon Frise mix who underwent spay surgery (ovariohysterectomy, or OHE) at Jarrettsville Veterinary Center.
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Kirra’s Mass Removals And Dental Cleaning.
Treatment Cost (USD): $1028.52
Kirra had two masses growing under the skin over her spinal area. They larger one was about the size of a lemon and the smaller, just a few inches from the first closer to her tail, was about the size of a grape. The larger one was beginning to cause the skin to stretch to the point where rupture was eminent. When a mass ruptures the area is very unlikely to heal closed as this is abnormal tissue. A nonhealing wound or ruptured mass can result in chronic bleeding/exudate, infection or even maggots. Large masses that are about to cause skin rupture should be surgically excused before they get so large the skin opens or the mass removal is too large to close, or is causing the pet discomfort or ambulatory difficulty.
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Dental Cleaning And Mass Removal In A Bloodhound.
Treatment Cost (USD): $1081.00
Dewey is a one year old Bloodhound who had a pendulous subcutaneous mass at his sternum. He was also unneutered. The mass needed to be removed as it hanging and the skin covering it was thinning and would eventually rupture. A pendulous mass will continue to stretch and eventually rupture which would then need to be surgically removed. In doing both surgeries at the same time it reduced both the cost and the anesthesia risk/exposure.
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Routine Dental Cleaning For A Canine (dog).
Treatment Cost (USD): $325.00
Natasha is a middle aged Doberman with dental calculi and mild gum inflammation. After an examination and pre-op bloodwork (about $200 for this) she was scheduled for a routine dental cleaning and polish under general anesthesia.
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Hello.
These are really frustrating cases. I’m so sorry about your experience and I empathize completely. I guess my first concern is that we don’t often know why this happens. My second concern is that you are going to repeat the same surgery and it should be assumed the failure has a pretty fair chance of happening again. My preference as the surgeon for cases like these (and they happen to all of us) is to both offer a redo (although I will admit I rarely charge or I charge a nominal redo fee) is to also offer a different surgeon to try over. My concern is that failing twice is an awful big expenditure and a tough explanation as to why I didn’t see that coming. My personal preference is to refer these difficult refractory cases to the vet teaching hospitals. They have faster easier and better access to more minds and more diverse experience. You just can’t get that at a private facility. I use UPenn or va tech vet schools. They are often cheaper and give a broader access to options and experience. I hope this helps. Please let me know what happens. I would love to hear a follow up and I would love to hear about your previous surgery and experience. Especially to add this to our storylines page. It is such a unique case. Very best of luck. Krista.
Thank you so much for your reply and suggestions. We will move forward with the second attempt to repair the prolapse despite the low success rate and cost associated. If it is unsuccessful we will need to get another opinion. I hadn’t thought to consult with a vet school and I think that is great advice. I will certainly keep you posted along the way.
I want to second Dr. M’s recommendation of a vet school. UPenn is phenomenal – we drove up from Timonium. They couldn’t help my puppy but they literally threw everything they could at him to diagnose his issue, and it was more than the local vets could do.