Anesthesia for 15 year old Yorkie?

[tutters]

My 15.5 year old boy had his annual checkup this past weekend. Long story short: one premolar on upper LH side has exposed root. I've tried brushing teeth over the years, but I guess you can't always keep up. Vet is recommending extraction of tooth and good cleaning, which of course requires putting him under. I am so scared. We did a blood test yesterday,a nd she called back saying he has "age-related kidney decline" that has her worried, but he doesn't need to be hospitalized. This Satruday I will take him in for dieth change and for me to learn to give him subcutaneous fluids. If this gets better, then she wants to revisit the cleaning idea in April. Please, I need your opinions. Please, no one scold me, I feel bad enough already. And terrified.

[kjc]

Hi and Welcome to YT!

That is a tough call... in the meantime, applying coconut oil to the teeth and gumline can help ease pain, help to fight infection, and will help to clean the teeth.

Keeping him in my prayers....

[ladyjane]

I am sorry. You are stuck between a rock and hard place. If you don't take care of his teeth, his kidney issues will get worse...and of course, anesthesia is difficult on a pup who already has kidney disease.

If I were in your shoes I would probably go to a dental specialist for a second opinion. I had this happen with one of my seniors years ago.....the vet ran extra IV fluids which is what they do when the do the dentals...but she ended up passing a few months later. Bottom line, she probably would have passed anyway...I don't know......but I could not let her teeth not be cleaned because it was not good either. Difficult decision...

Good luck!

[ladyjane]

You could also ask your vet for an antibiotic for him...probably a good idea anyway. Often they use Clindamycin prior to dentals.

And, you can get some pain meds for him in the meantime.

[Yorkiemom1]

Originally Posted by ladyjane

You could also ask your vet for an antibiotic for him...probably a good idea anyway. Often they use Clindamycin prior to dentals.

And, you can get some pain meds for him in the meantime.

I had a baby girl that was 14 years old.,,,,...she had some congestive heart issues, I was terrified to put her under for cleaning her teeth, so my vet put her on a maintainance dose of antibiotics....she got a small dose daily, three weeks on, a week off, in order to prevent any bacterial growth in her heart and other organs that bad teeth can precipitate, and she did super until she passed at 16.....no heart disease secondary to bacterial growth from bad teeth, no organ failure secondary to bacterial growth on teeth....Like others have said, you have a really tough decision to make. In a position such as yours, I would look at options. You have the antibiotic option. Whatever YOU choose to do, just make certain the decision, as well as the outcome, is something YOU can live with. THAT is important....I took a baby in for teeth cleaning years ago....I was terrified, because she was so small.....and with all the encouragement and "Oh they do thousands of teeth every year, on babies smaller than Itzie, she will be just fine".....I did not want to do it, but I did it because of all the pushing to get it done....and I got my baby's body, a sympathy card, and a tiny paw print in plaster to remind me I made the decision to have this done, and essentially delivered my baby to Deaths door. That was years ago, and there is not a day that goes by, that I do not see that precious little soul's sweet, gentle eyes, watch me as I walked away and left her with the vet tech..... And there was the member on here that not long ago was taking her baby in to be spayed...she was sooooooo scared and worried about it....I encouraged her and tried to talk her out of her fears, assuring her that it would all be just fine, we all dread having any surgeries done, but they do just fine.....and then that evening, I got on here to check on how her baby did.....her baby DIED! I have not gotten over THAT event either and I will NEVER encourage anyone to have surgeries that are not absolutely vital to the dogs survival, done. Teeth, spaying and neutering are all called "elective procedures". They are definately beneficial for their health, but you dont do anything that you cant live with, in case it does not turn out well. YOU DO WHAT YOU CAN LIVE WITH FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.

[Scoobstersmom]

Originally Posted by tutters

My 15.5 year old boy had his annual checkup this past weekend. Long story short: one premolar on upper LH side has exposed root. I've tried brushing teeth over the years, but I guess you can't always keep up. Vet is recommending extraction of tooth and good cleaning, which of course requires putting him under. I am so scared. We did a blood test yesterday,a nd she called back saying he has "age-related kidney decline" that has her worried, but he doesn't need to be hospitalized. This Satruday I will take him in for dieth change and for me to learn to give him subcutaneous fluids. If this gets better, then she wants to revisit the cleaning idea in April. Please, I need your opinions. Please, no one scold me, I feel bad enough already. And terrified.

I can't imagine anyone here would scold you. We all do the best we can for our babies. Your first step is to follow up with your vet and find out what stage his kidney failure is. Did your vet mention any numbers? The most important numbers in kidney disease are creatine, bun, and urine specific gravity. There is much that can be done to treat kidney disease, although it is not reversible or curable. With the right diet and supplements your boy can still have a quality of life. I would definitely put the teeth cleaning on the back burner for now until you see where you stand on the kidney issues. There is an excellent kidney diet group on yahoo, with moderators that really know their stuff regarding diet. Get copies of your little guy's bloodwork and find your way to that site for some help as far as diet. Good luck, and try not to panic at this point.

Diana and the Scoobster

[Marilize]

You've gotten great advice so far. I just want to add that I wouldn't risk putting a dog of that age under unless it was life-threatening. Anaesthesia is very dangerous at that age and I just wouldn't risk it. Get a second opinion and talk to your vet. Good luck.

[107barney]

Dental specialists often see high risk cases and very old dogs. Here's a list of experts in your area. I'd call them and explain the situation and they should able to advise you. My dogs see a dentist and there is an anesthesiologist on site. AVDC Veterinary Dentist Directory | AVDC - American Veterinary Dental College

[tutters]

Jake has started on subq fluids 2x weekly: 100 ml of ringers lactate. BUN Is78.0 and Cr is 3.5. hes going to go on canned hills k/d. need suggestions for treats and anything that might make the hills more attractive to him. thanks

[tutters]

saw the vet today. Jakes BUN is 78.0 and Cr is 3.5. urine test didnt show anything alarming. he is being switched to hills kd canned. he will get subqvfluids twice avweek at home.

[lisaly]

My little girl, Ashley, had anesthesia for a dental infection when she was sixteen. She had an enlarged heart which made anesthesia risky, and we had stopped doing her Yearly dentals because of that. She did fine, but I certainly understand your fears. I hope Jake responds to the sub Q fluids and that whatever you dani spend many, many more precious moments with him.

[Scoobstersmom]

Originally Posted by tutters

saw the vet today. Jakes BUN is 78.0 and Cr is 3.5. urine test didnt show anything alarming. he is being switched to hills kd canned. he will get subqvfluids twice avweek at home.

Ask about the supplement Azodyl. It can help to lower the BUN and Creatine. Did your vet prescribe anything else? Seriously think about joining the K9 kidney diet group. It's a lot about diet but it's much more than that and a very valuable resource on this journey.

Hope your pup is feeling well.

Diana

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by tutters

saw the vet today. Jakes BUN is 78.0 and Cr is 3.5. urine test didnt show anything alarming. he is being switched to hills kd canned. he will get subqvfluids twice avweek at home.

If you find that he does not like the K/D, Purina has a kidney diet that I have used in the past.
The RX diets work very well!
Hope he does well on the food and extra fluids.

[Yorkie24U]

My 2 senior girly yorkies had their 'dental' last Dec other Jan. They are 13 & 15 yrs old. At that time the 'critical care' emergency hosp. advised me that there should be no problems. I was a wreck, but if I didn't get their teeth cleaned, the worse their teeth got, the bacteria and problems would go to the rest of their organs. They seemed to be in good health with lab work, the 15 yr old anyways, even tho she was diagnosed with early kidney disease in Sept, she was only 3.3 lbs. at the time. She made it thru no problem. BUT her little sister 13 yrs old, 3.0 lbs at the time, was a little dehydrated and also was diagnosed with stage 2 kidney disease but they kept her overnite on IV and performed the dental the next day, she did fine.

The younger one, Lindsey just got her rabies shot on friday, 2 hrs later was vomiting, but rested until about midnight when she wouldn't stop vomiting, so to the Emergency Critical Care Hosp. I went with her midnight. They did tests, gave fluids and sent her home at 3 am stable. She had an allergic reaction to the rabies shot. Since then she has not eaten, so today I had to take her back to the hosp. to stay 2 days they say, so they can get her back to better health. Her BUN was 183 (normal range 7-27, CREA was 3.7 (normal range 1.8). She'll get IV thru the nite & maybe tomorrow, antibiotics, and appetite stimulant. Hope to pick her up on Thursday, meantime I can go and visit her there and call anytime. Its a scarey situation and hope she makes it ok. Please say a prayer for Lindsey, Thanks.
They both have kidney disease and have had a couple of different food combinations, have to keep on low phosphorus foods, no salt. They are very picky eaters, but the last foods I'm giving them is found at Petco, called Deli Fresh Vitals, its a good source of food for canine kidney disease.
Please check with your vet, if you have confidence in them, that will help you. My 2 littles ones are so tiny and I worry about them. Did I mention they are both blind also ? Both with kidney disease now and seem to be doing ok, until the rabies shot reaction. No more shots for my senior dogs . They did not like the KD foods. They were having cooked boneless skinless chicken thights, sweet potato, green beans mixed and liked it for a while. There is a lot of information at the Facebook page " Canine Kidney Disease", if you'd like to read about all the cases, might help. Good luck with your decision, I know I been there with my 2 recently. I had to follow my gutt feeling and trust my special care vets from all they have given 'dentals'

[msyorktown]

I have no advice to offer, but I am sending prayers for your baby...((huggzz))