Oscar is a much-loved long-term patient of AdelaideVet, having visited our Stirling clinic for 14 of his 16 years!
Recently, his owner noticed he wasn’t quite himself and had started having accidents in the house. Concerned, she brought him in to see our team.
Initial testing quickly revealed Oscar had a urinary tract infection. He began to feel better almost immediately after starting antibiotics, but once the course was finished, the accidents returned. This raised some red flags for our vets, and we knew further investigation was needed.
Thankfully, Dr Anna was able to fit Oscar into her busy schedule the very next day. An abdominal ultrasound revealed his bladder was inflamed and contained some unusual structures. X-rays confirmed the suspicion—Oscar had developed very large bladder stones. The ultrasound also showed that his right kidney looked abnormal, prompting a referral to The Austin specialist hospital for a CT scan.
The CT scan revealed even more: Oscar had a stone lodged in his right ureter—the narrow tube connecting the kidney to the bladder—which was causing significant kidney issues.
With this new information, our Stirling veterinary team put their heads together to work out the best treatment plan, especially since Oscar also has a heart condition that can complicate anaesthesia. Ultimately, surgery was the only viable option.
Oscar underwent a procedure to remove the bladder stones and his damaged right kidney. To ensure his safety, a carefully tailored anaesthetic plan was created by Dr Jess and closely monitored by our highly skilled nursing team, while Dr Maddie performed the surgery.
We’re happy to report that everything went beautifully—Oscar had a smooth anaesthetic and an excellent recovery. Not bad at all for a senior gentleman!
Chihuahuas can live up to 20 years, so we look forward to many more visits from Oscar and his wonderful family in the years to come.
