[Gpdd] HEALTH: Mollie's surgery

[Candy G.]

Greetings, Piggies and Slaves -

I just wanted to let y'all know how Mollie's surgery turned out.  Your care 
and concern has been deeply appreciated and much needed.

Mollie had become very distended in the past few days - not hard, but very 
swollen - and her eyes were bulging.  We could see the whites around them 
for the very first time ever.  She looked very ill.  The vet and I discussed 
delaying the surgery, but the stone wasn't going to go away and the 
distention was getting worse, so we had to take the chance and do the 
surgery while she still was well enough to even have a chance of surviving.

She came through the surgery itself relatively well - much better than we 
had anticipated with the shape she was in.  But, we got a BIG surprise!  The 
vet kept flushing her bladder and ureter. . . and flushing . . . and 
flushing. . . and cleaning out. . . and cleaning out. . . NO STONE.  Instead 
(this is so weird), it was a HUGE blood clot that had crystals and necrotic 
(dead) tissure in it.  It had been stuck to her bladder wall.  We all saw 
what DEFINITELY appeared to be a stone on the x-ray before her surgery.  
After the surgery and the clot and debris removal, the "stone" was nowhere 
to be found on the follow-up x-rays.  Has anybody ever heard of anything 
like this blood clot / dead tissue thing?  If so, please let me know your 
experience with it.

So the fact that she didn't have a stone is GREAT, but now we don't know 
what is going on with the clot or with the distention.  Her meds right now 
are Baytril and Metacam.  For the distention, we are starting her on a 
probiotic and Simethacone.  (Anyone got any suggestions on the dosage and 
frequency for the simethicone??)  When we can get her stabilized on all of 
that, I will start the Shilintong.  I am hesitant to start that right now 
with eveything else that is going on and not knowing exactly what her 
reaction to it will be.

Our vet tells me that she is very ill right now and not out of the woods.  
But, I can't help but be glad that she had not formed another stone so 
quickly.  That is at least one piece of good news.  That little rascal is 
such a quiet, dainty little girl, but - by golly - she's a fighter!  She's 
trying her best to make it.

Thank all of you so much for your support and information.  It has made so 
much difference for us.  And I know that the fact that you were sending 
Mollie your thoughts and best wishes definitely contributed to the strength 
that she needed to survive the traumas of today.

For those of you who asked for it, things have gotten a little chaotic here, 
but I plan on sending the "Repeat Bladder Stone" info to you by Friday night 
at the latest.

Thanks again and again for being the wonderful folks that you are.

Candy; a still-groggy Mollie and her attentive 'nurse', Topper