Casey is a 5 year old, large (1800g) female. I took her to the vet yesterday because I noticed blood in the Carefresh where she had urinated. The vet felt a large stone near the opening to her urethra. She proposed attempting to pluck it out under anesthesia. She has never done this procedure. There is another vet in the office who has performed this procedure (at least once but I don’t know how many times) but she is semi-retired and is only in the office on Mondays and Tuesday mornings.
I called Adobe Animal Hospital to find out when Dr. Nakamura could see her. He can examine her then and make recommendations but there is no guarantee that he will be able to remove the stone that day. Unfortunately, I could not get an appointment until next Thursday and there isn’t another vet who does surgical procedures on Guinea pigs available before then.
Casey was prescribed metacam and I am giving her syringes of water to keep her hydrated as the vet recommended. She is urinating. I can feel the stone and it seems very large to me—probably the size of a pea. I can’t imagine that it can move anywhere by itself. I doubt she can pass it. I also think it is unlikely to cause more of a blockage than it already has. (It may be wishful thinking—I really don’t know anything).
So my dilemma is do I risk having a solo vet, with unknown experience (though two vets work in the office, only one is there at a time) attempt to pluck it out on Monday or wait until I can take her to an experienced vet in a well-staffed and well-equipped facility next Thursday.
I realize I have to make the decision myself but I would like input to assess the risks.
Casey-stone in urethra
I called another practice and the two vets who potentially could do the surgery will be in tomorrow.
I am concerned about Casey’s metacam dose—I think it is too high. The vet prescribed 0.35 mls of a 10mg/ml solution twice a day. Casey weighs about 1800g. I commented on it when the technician gave the medication to me an she said it was what the doctor ordered. This morning, I started thinking about it again and did some research. Everything I read including a discussion I read in a link from the medications page here suggests the prescribed dosage is wrong. I called the vet and left a message. She has had 3 doses. The last one was yesterday evening at about 8:30. I am not sure when to give her more and how much.
The vet called back. She made a mistake and prescribed the vplume for a 1.5mg/ml solution instead of the 1.5mg/ml.
Dr. N successfully removed Casey’s stone this morning and I can pick her up this afternoon. Apparently, the stone lodged in her urethra and has been getting bigger as salts in her urine crystallize on it. I never thought about how it could contonue to get bigger while it was in there. It is obvious to me now—the process is the same as growing crystals in a solution.
I hope her recovery goes smoothly.
I hope her recovery goes smoothly.
I thought Casey would be doing better than she is. She will eat fresh food but is not eating hay or pellets. Her poop is mushy. I got a prescription for cisapride and started feeding her Critical Care. I hope I see some improvement tomorrow.
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