This male dog was taken to the vet because he was having difficulty passing urine. He was straining to urinate but very little urine was being passed. This is a very serious sign. It is more likely to be a problem in male dogs and cats because the male urethra is narrower than the female’s.

A urinary catheter was passed and a urolith (stone) could be felt at the point where the urethra arches around at the back of the dog before heading down and forward to the penis. An attempt was made to flush this stone back into the bladder where it would be easier to remove. A urinary catheter was inserted and saline solution flushed into the urethra, however the urolith was lodged firmly and did not move. Fortunately the catheter could be manipulated past the urolith to the bladder and the large volume of urine could be removed.

The first radiograph shows the catheter passing backwards, around the pelvic arch and into the bladder where it formed a loop amongst the many stones. You can also see the large urolith lodged in the urethra.

Once the urine was emptied from the bladder the dog was put on an intravenous drip for 24 hours to stabilise his system and re-hydrate him. The plan was to have a second attempt to flush the urolith back into the bladder with a jet of saline solution using a wider bore catheter than the first time. However the original catheter hooked onto the urolith as it was being pulled out and became firmly lodged in place

Two operations were now required. One operation would be required to remove the large stone from the urethra and to free up the lodged catheter. Then a second operation would be needed to remove the multiple stones in the bladder.

The next picture shows the dog prepared for surgery....not the nicest view of the dog, unfortunately!

And here you can see the area has been surgically scrubbed and draped and a small incision has been made over the blocked urethra.

An incision is made into the urethra to expose the slightly yellowish stone and it is removed.

The next step is to make a separate incision through the abdominal wall underneath the patient and exteriorise the bladder. An incision is made into the bladder and a sterile "spoon" is used to scoop out the uroliths.

Several small polyps were found growing on the bladder lining and these were removed. These probably formed due to chronic irritation from the uroliths and the associated infection.

The bladder is then sutured closed and the abdominal incision closed. Finally the urethral incision is closed.

The stones are sent away for chemical analysis as there are a number of different possibilities. Once we know precisely what the uroliths are made up of we can advise the client on ways to prevent them from forming again. This usually involves feeding the pet a specially formulated prescription diet. The special diet results in the formation of urine that is less likely to support the growth of the uroliths identified.