Boomer’s tale of 3 RINGS ? But which 1 of these 3 RINGS does not BELONG ?

Boomer is Back ! But what’s his this time ? Dr. Boazman explains …

You may recall his about Liver Shunts which was featured in the latest edition of dvm360 magazine, highlighting the importance of pet insurance & sponsored by nationwidepet

Boomer originally came in with a previous history of a UTI (urinary tract infection) that we investigated. A simple noninvasive test (digital X-rays) revealed that Boomer suffered from bladder stones. We scheduled Boomer for the surgical removal of his bladder stones via cystotomy.

To our surprise, Boomer’s bladder stones were determined to be urate stones. Did you know that only about 5% of all bladder stones are urate stones? Urate stone confirmation led us to check Boomer for impaired liver function, as they can form as a result of an abnormal liver shunt.

A liver shunt is an abnormal connection between veins which bypass the liver. Boomer came back for his on site CT scan thanks to mobile pet imaging. His scan proved that he has a single congenital extrahepatic liver shunt, which required Boomer to begin medications & diet change prior to scheduling surgical repair of his liver shunt.

Boomer has now been doing well at home after having 2 shunts repaired, but his “routine senior wellness” tests revealed some struvite urinary crystals.

These struvite crystals led us to investigate Boomer again with digital x-rays for any evidence of bladder stones. X-rays of Boomer did not reveal any obvious bladder stones, but did lead us to discover something unexpected in Boomer’s stomach … But what is IT ?

Dr. Boazman reveals what was found & how we addressed this finding to help Boomer out in his time of need !