Nonsurgical removal of urocystoliths in dogs and cats by voiding urohydropropulsion.

A technique called voiding urohydropropulsion has been developed that facilitates nonsurgical removal of urocystoliths. Voiding urohydropropulsion was performed in 11 dogs and 10 cats with urocystoliths. Urocystoliths were completely removed from 15 of 21 animals (5 female dogs, 3 male dogs, 5 female cats, and 1 male cat). The number of uroliths removed from any animal varied between 1 and 983. The mean time required to complete voiding urohydropropulsion in the 15 animals from which all uroliths were completely removed was 22 minutes. In 6 animals (2 female dogs, 3 female cats, and 1 male cat), not all urocystoliths were removed. Visible hematuria was induced in all animals as a consequence of voiding urohydropropulsion. In dogs, visible hematuria resolved within 4 hours. Dysuria was not induced by this technique in dogs. In many cats, visible hematuria and dysuria persisted for 1 to 2 days. One male cat developed urethral obstruction after we failed to remove a urolith from the bladder. The urolith was returned to the urinary bladder, and subsequently removed by cystotomy. Voiding urohydropropulsion is a simple and effective method that should be considered for removal of small urocystoliths from dogs and cats before cystotomy is performed.