Two weeks ago the Vet Blog covered a question from the owner of a young female dog. The dog had suffered from urinary incontinence that seemed quite intractable. I speculated that the puppy would outgrow the problem. I stand by that answer.
But, just in case she doesn’t, all hope is not lost. The March/April, 2011 issue of California Veterinarian carried an article written by Dr. Clare Gregory. Dr. Gregory earned fame as a veterinary surgeon by pioneering feline kidney transplants. He also taught surgery to many of California’s veterinarians — including me.
Dr. Gregory’s article was entitled “Outcome of Five Dogs that ad a Hydraulic Urethral Occluder Implanted for the Control of Urinary Incontinence”.
The article describes a new surgical technique in which a device was planted around the urethra (the tube that connects the bladder to the outside world) in dogs with intractable incontinence. All of the dogs were female. And all of the dogs enjoyed good results, with elimination of incontinence and no difficulty urinating when they were supposed to.
This technique is still in its infancy, and it is one that for the foreseeable future will need to be performed by a specialist. However, the surgery is worth mentioning to your vet if your dog’s incontinence has resisted other treatments.
