Hi,
My 13.5 year old cat has had a kidney bypass operation about 18 months ago. The problem was that she had a kidney stone that was obstructing the draining of one of her kidneys that went misdiagnosed for almost a year. By the time it was discovered I was told the recommended option was to install a device that can bypass the obstructed tube and then the affected kidney can drain normally. The after care of this procedure is this device needs to be flushed out every three months. This involves sedating the cat and she spends the day in a specialist hospital. Fortunately I have insurance and it covers most of the expenses. Her kidney function has gone back to normal and continues to be.
There has been a recurring problem of her getting a bacterial infection in this device. The treatment was a long course of antibiotics over a 2 month period. Which is a bit traumatizing for the cat to have to shove a pill down her throat twice a day for several months. Each time when when getting a urine analysis run a month after finishing it shows the infection has been cleared. However, each time she goes back to her her device flushed out again, I'm told the infection is then still present. This has happened ever since she had the device installed and not once has she had an all clear after having the device flushed. The vet is now recommending a more serious course of action of a combination of antibiotics and a weekly flushing of the device for a month. The cost for each flushing procedure is $2,000 Australian. I'm very hesitant to agree to this procedure, expenses aside, what kind of quality of life is this for the cat? It takes her a few days after each procedure to get back to being herself. So having to do this every week for a month I think would be a bit much. Thinking back I feel I should have recommended they remove the affected kidney and none of the above would have occurred. Cats can live a normal life on one kidney.
All that said, I am wondering if anyone has had a similar experience to a cat having a kidney bypass operation.
My 13.5 year old cat has had a kidney bypass operation about 18 months ago. The problem was that she had a kidney stone that was obstructing the draining of one of her kidneys that went misdiagnosed for almost a year. By the time it was discovered I was told the recommended option was to install a device that can bypass the obstructed tube and then the affected kidney can drain normally. The after care of this procedure is this device needs to be flushed out every three months. This involves sedating the cat and she spends the day in a specialist hospital. Fortunately I have insurance and it covers most of the expenses. Her kidney function has gone back to normal and continues to be.
There has been a recurring problem of her getting a bacterial infection in this device. The treatment was a long course of antibiotics over a 2 month period. Which is a bit traumatizing for the cat to have to shove a pill down her throat twice a day for several months. Each time when when getting a urine analysis run a month after finishing it shows the infection has been cleared. However, each time she goes back to her her device flushed out again, I'm told the infection is then still present. This has happened ever since she had the device installed and not once has she had an all clear after having the device flushed. The vet is now recommending a more serious course of action of a combination of antibiotics and a weekly flushing of the device for a month. The cost for each flushing procedure is $2,000 Australian. I'm very hesitant to agree to this procedure, expenses aside, what kind of quality of life is this for the cat? It takes her a few days after each procedure to get back to being herself. So having to do this every week for a month I think would be a bit much. Thinking back I feel I should have recommended they remove the affected kidney and none of the above would have occurred. Cats can live a normal life on one kidney.
All that said, I am wondering if anyone has had a similar experience to a cat having a kidney bypass operation.