The other day a 6 year old Cocker spaniel bitch was brought
to our clinic with the history of - “can’t
hold its urine”, increased frequency of urination and painful urination. Apart from the presenting
symptoms, the animal appeared normal.
The blood reports and the urine
examination did not reveal any significant finding either and no urinary tract
infection could be established.
However, the Xray report revealed the presence of stones in
the bladder. An operation was carried out to remove the urinary stones and the
bitch had an uneventful recovery.
Nice to know
Stones in the urinary tract are technically refereed as “Uroliths”.
The term “urolith” is derived from the Greek
“Ouron” meaning Urine and “lithos” meaning stone. (Remember the Paleolithic and
the Neolithic age that we read about as kids !). These stones are primarily
made up of minerals and can be lodged at one or many places in the urinary
tract.
When present in the bladder it is called a cystolith, in the kidneys
(nephrolith) and when present in the urethra it is called a urethrolith.
Luckily, the disease is infrequently seen in dogs. Roughly
about 3 per cent dogs presented to the veterinary clinics are found to be
suffering from the disease. Depending upon the location where it is lodged, varied
symptoms are presented by the animal. Diagnostic imaging viz Xrays and
Ultrasound are normally employed to arrive at a confirmatory diagnosis.
Rapid strides have been made in the treatment of the
disease. Generally, when the stones are fewer in number and smaller in size
attempts are made to dissolve the same. This is what is referred to as the Dissolution
Protocol. Normally it helps. When it
doesn’t surgical intervention is carried out. The surgery can be specialized or simple surgery.
Radiograph showing white (radio opaque) stones in the bladder
Cystoliths removed after open surgery
