Recovering from surgery

[Kananga]

Good and bad news…

We'll start off with the bad...

Urinalysis came back positive for a UTI. WBC is @ 2-5. The concerning part of the analysis is the specific gravity. It's lower than normal. And the urine was taken this morning after he woke up. No additional water.

The good news is they prescribed 22.7mg of Baytril to be given twice per day for the next 10 days. I was told it's a stronger antibiotic. If that is not effective they will do bloodwork. I gave them a copy of his bloodwork from 6/11/09 (day of surgery, before being put under). They can use that as a baseline.

Hopefully this antibiotic clears things up, but they said if it does not, there is possibly issues with his kidneys. Perhaps a weak infection was in his system before surgery that was not detected, and him being put under enhanced the infection. Not positive though. The vet didn't think Rimadyl was a probable cause but that anything is possible.

[lvoss]

Are they doing a culture and sensitivity test on the bacteria? This would tell whether they are using the right antibiotic to combat this infection. Baytril is the antibiotic that my vet starts with for UTIs but does recommend the culture to be sure it isn't a resistant strain.

[tanza]

My Vet also uses Baytril for UTI (or Clavamox)… some do well with one more then the other... I have never had any reactions to the Baytril, sometimes the Clavamox can cause loose stool or decreased appetite due to tummy upset... but it is usually very minor....

Sounds to me like you are "again" headed in the right direction.... but I think that if he were mine and even if the Baytril clears up the UTI, I would still have blood work done at least to check out the kidneys.... but that is just me... I am a pretty big "nut" for blood work....

[Kananga]

We didn't discuss anything about doing a culture.

I'm going to see how he does over the next week. But I do agree with you Pat, I'll most likely have blood work done regardless. The lower specific gravity is enough of a concern. I guess the good part is they didn't find any crystals in the urine.

I'll have another urinalysis done on 7/6, followed by more bloodwork.

[tanza]

Hope to hear good news about Kanango in the next few days. You should see a pretty quick turn around…. at least I have with Baytril.....

[lvoss]

I also usually see results within the first couple of days with Baytril. Hopefully that will turn things around for Kananga.

[Kananga]

He's already showing signs of improvement. First morning in awhile where he's slept past 7am. I'm finally getting a full nights rest. He's been on Baytril for over 24 hours now. No accidents since Thursday, so far so good.

[tanza]

@Kananga:

He's already showing signs of improvement. First morning in awhile where he's slept past 7am. I'm finally getting a full nights rest. He's been on Baytril for over 24 hours now. No accidents since Thursday, so far so good.

That is so great to hear!!!! Yea for Kananga!!! and for you too!!!!

[Basenjimamma]

Good to hear, I will keep my fingers crossed that you have found the cure for his problems..

[Kananga]

Vet followed up with me today. She didn't get a chance to discuss his results in-depth on Saturday, but she wanted to discuss everything with me over the phone today.

She was happy to hear he has shown signs of improvement. I asked about the concern with the specific gravity, she mentioned that it's hopefully just from him drinking more water, but that the urinalysis a week from today will really show if it's still a concern. She did say it's quite uncommon for a male dog to come down with a UTI after being neutered, but the stress can worsen a very weak presence of bacteria (typically that would be managed by the dog's immune system without any symptoms) and that it would not have shown up on any blood work prior to surgery. She has seen this happen once before. I was pleased to hear she was knowledgeable about fanconi syndrome. I explained that simply going off of his parents, there's only the possibility of him being a carrier in the worst case scenario, but that I plan on testing him in the near future.

It was nice to have a thorough discussion with her though. Seems like she really wanted to make sure all of my questions/concerns were answered.

[tanza]

Sounds like you hit the JACKPOT with your new Vet… that is so good to hear.... and sounds like Kananga is well on the way to full recovery....

[nala121498]

Yay! It's hard to find a vet like that…glad to know he's improving!

[Kananga]

Urinalysis was done this morning. Everything came back perfect. No bacteria, specific gravity is in a normal range, etc.

He's back to being healthy (and chewing on my couch).

[Basenjimamma]

Good to hear…not about the couch;), but about his health..