BLADDER STONES (UROLITHIASIS)

BLADDER STONES (UROLITHIASIS)

Urolithiasis means bladder stone. It is not a stone in the kidney, which is likely untreatable by surgery. Stones in the bladder are curable by cystotomy (bladder surgery) in which the bladder is entered and the stones are removed.

Dietary treatment – An alternative method is a dietary treatment S/D diet which dissolves struvite stones (about 60-70% of stones). The dietary treatment has the advantage of being noninvasive, but is not extremely palatable. Although some dogs eat the S/D diet eagerly, many will leave the food sit for a day or so before they give in and eat the diet. The food should not be mixed or flavored with anything else. The considerable advantage to the dietary remedy is that it does work more than half the time and avoids invasive surgery. If after three months of strict S/D diet the radiographs show stones still present the surgery should be performed after all. The diet is a special order item.