[timber]

My dog Karitsa has incontinence issues. It's not just a dribble here and there, it's full bladder empyting. She's been on 2 meds for about a year now, and one of them is at a very high dose. I took her to see an vet specialist to see if there are any other options such as surgery to correct this problem as I would like to steer her away from so much medication for her entire life. The vet basically said they would need to do a cystoscopy to make sure it's not ectopic ureter(s). Once it's diagnosed that it is not this, there is a newer surgery where they place a cuff around the bladder neck and inflate it to keep the muscles taught enough to hold the urine but loose enough to let her pee when needed. She said so far the results have been pretty good with this surgery.

The vet also examined her vulva and said Karitsa's is inverted and "hooded" and recommended a "nip & tuck" surgery to correct this. She said this could be why she initially had recurrent UTI's. The nip & tuck was estimated at about $1,000-1,500, the cystoscopy was estimated at $2,500, and the cuff surgery at about $6,000.

I was speaking with my regular vet and he said perhaps to do the nip & tuck first and see how she does. If the incontinence continues after to go ahead and do the cystoscopy. Considering that everything will cost well over $10,000 (as another urine & culture test via cystocentesis and blood work to make sure her organs are ok with all the meds (both will be about $400), maybe doing the nip & tuck first will be more feasible financially, then go from there.

Can I get some insight on what other's would do in this situation? I have a little bit of savings, but not $10,000 so would have to get a loan to do all of this this year.

 

[TiggerBounce]

I honestly don't think doing the nip/tuck will address the larger incontinence issue. Dogs with hooded vulvas aren't incontinent. They're just more prone to infection, which can make them go more frequently and cause accidents inside. It's not full bladder emptying....It's just a constant feeling of having to go, so they squat a lot and only produce a little dribble.

What does your specialist think about that idea?

 

[timber]

I forgot to add that during the cystoscopy they will also biopsy the bladder to check for inflammation. They said constant bladder tissue inflammation can cause incontinence. I guess that is where the regular vet said that doing the nip & tuck first to prevent infection in case it is inflammation causing incontinence. He said it's just a different approach to doing the process of elimination in figuring out what is causing the incontinence. Obviously if the nip & tuck doesn't correct the incontinence, he said to do the cystoscopy.

The specialist left the ball in my court on how to proceed considering how costly it all will be. I will be doing the urine culture & sensitivity and blood work soon regardless as Karitsa is due for her check-up anyways.

 

[Jess23]

I'm having the same issues with my Maddi, though it's not enough of a problem for surgery. Have you tried the more natural route yet? I've heard good things about plain yogurt, cranimals cranberry supplements, and a product called leaks no more by homeopet. I'm not sure if it would work in your situation because the leakage is so severe, but it's worth s shot.

 

[Jess23]

Also, have you checked her for bladder stones? Thats something I'd ask the vet about if they haven't ruled it out already.

The only other thing that I can think of is that maddi has two little "polyps" on her bladder wall. My vet explained it as a mass on the wall that prevents her from fully emptying her bladder. it also increases her chance of infections because the bacteria gets in them and it's hard to get in to kill it. I'm thinking it could be possible that your girl has one of these? We found maddis in an ultrasound when doing the cytocentesis.

 

[timber]

X rays were done twice to rule out bladder stones. An ultrasound was also done to check for bladder malformation.

 

[timber]

I need help but am so embarrassed to ask, but must try for the sake of my girl Karitsa.

I have been trying so hard to save for Karitsa's specialist costs. I have some savings but nowhere near 10 grand. Plus Hank is still not doing so good so I unfortunately had to dip into Karitsa's savings for him. I was declined for a loan and credit (including a pet specific credit card), so I had to resort to opening a gofundme page for Karitsa as well as facebook, twitter, and all that stuff. I am very new to facebook, twitter, etc. I am pretty old school when it comes to social media, so in other words, I have no idea what to do or how to do this. I am not asking anyone here for donations (I would never do that), BUT am hoping some might find it in their heart to help me share her page. PM me if you would like to be a part of Karitsa's sharing posse.

Some good news though is that my regular vet may have found another specialist that can do the cystoscopy for about half the cost as the 1st specialist. It was estimated to be approx. $1,000 instead of approx. $2,500.

 

[timber]

Good news everyone! We're almost at the point to have the surgery to correct Karitsa's lady parts (vulvoplasty) and cystoscopy soon. Karitsa has a vet appointment this Friday to make sure the antibiotics cleared her bladder infection and if all is clear her surgery will be booked as soon as possible.