Boar w/ big bladder stone and sludge - surgery needed, but scared

[4boipigs]

I just lost his brother to GI stasis last week. I did everything for him and he passed at the ER. I took my remaining boar to the vet to make sure he's okay before I get him a new friend. He has been very vocal when going to the bathroom lately, so we did xrays and he has a big bladder stone near the opening of the urethra. He also has lots of sludge which the doctor said was backing up due to this stone. The doctor said most of their surgical team quit (I also work at a vet, so I know things can be rough in our field.), so surgery at the vet we went to isn't an option. I'm scared of everything...the cost, losing him, and so on. Mainly the cost. I spent a lot of money on his brother, and now this. In the USA, this surgery will cost at least $1000. I have a credit card and Carecredit, but I'm worried about paying back the cards. We have pain meds in the mean time.

I'm torn because I have an appt to do boar dating on May 7th. Even tho he is taking his brother's death quite well (still eating, drinking, acting fairly normal), I don't want him to be lonely. Am I prioritizing the wrong thing?

We just came back from the vet with this news, so maybe in a while my head will be clear.

What should I do?

 

[Wiebke]

OUCH!

I am so sorry. It never rains but pours.
Personally, I would operate promptly because if a stone goes down into the boar urethra it usually fetches up in the akward inglenook they have, which make for a much more complicated and expensive operation. If the stone is large enough to block the flow of urine into the urethra, then you are dealing with a true life or death emergency situation because once the urine is backing up into the kidneys, it is fatal. It is also extremely painful. Compared to that, a bladder stone operation is generally a lot more straight forward with a good recovery rate because the removal of the major pain from the stone and crystals being banged around the bladder with every pee is instant and provides massive relief.

The rescue will hopefully be understanding and reschedule the bonding.

I know that it is a real pain - both for you and your purse under the circumstances, and I would have loved to tell you that the problem could wait if we hadn't seen too many boys pass away on here because of an urethral stone and them not getting to a vet in time or the operation being too complicated.
Please switch to weighing daily on the your kitchen scales at the same time. As soon as the weight is suddenly going down quickly, you know that you are dealing with an emergency situation; specially if your boy is looking very ill, off his food and apathetic.
Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
Tips For Post-operative Care