[lisaly]

I agree, Gail. Prevention is always the key. You won't need to go further medically if you can prevent it in the first place. I was curious about whether lithotripsy was possible for dogs. It won't work on most Yorkies because they say dogs need to be greater than 16 pounds. They are now doing something called laser lithotripsy, which is effective and far less invasive for the dog. It's only available a few places, but it is definitely something to look into as an alternative to surgery. My husband, John, had several bouts of kidney stones many years ago. At the time there was only one place on Long Island, New York to have lithotripsy done, so it took weeks to get an appointment. He needed treatment that would allow him to wait those few weeks until he could get them blasted. Other hospitals had something that put a person in water where they would try to blast them that way, but it wasn't as effective. Today, the places that do lithotripsy are more readily available, but it is very expensive, about $15,000 fifteen years ago. Now that there are more available, I wonder if the cost is less. We were insured, so at least we were lucky. I wonder if they would cover these treatments for dogs with health insurance.
Laser lithotripsy now available at VTH — College Of Veterinary Medicine at Michigan State University
http://www.vet.ohio-state.edu/assets...winter2008.pdf p. 3