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Gypsie's Urinary Obstruction

Gypsie, a 3 year old female guinea pig, was looking very miserable, passing lots of blood in her urine and losing condition.
The most likely cause was a urolith - a stone formed in the urinary passage and blocking the flow of urine. Severe cystitis or bladder tumour were other possibilities.
We gave Gyspie a light general anaesthetic and X-rayed the abdomen.

There was a large stone (urolith) present in and virtually blocking the urethra (the passage from the bladder to the outside).
You can see it on the X-ray as the white bean-shaped object at the back of the pelvis. With fine forceps we could reach in the vulva to the stone and feel it as a solid obstruction, but we couldn't move it. Using a small catheter we introduced lubricant gel all around the stone and gradually were able to dislodge it and remove it. The urethra was inflamed but not seriously damaged by the stone. We flushed the bladder with saline and sent Gyspsie home on antibiotics and anti-inflammatories for the next 2 weeks. She made a good recovery and the condition hasn't returned.

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