Ballistic shock wave lithotripsy in an 18-year-old thoroughbred gelding.

Prolonged postoperative recuperation timeandrestricted exercise were circum- vented byusing ballistic shock wave lithotripsy tobreak up an 8-cmdiameter vesical calculus and byflushing outthesand-like residue underepidural anesthesia withthehorse standing. Recovery was uneventful. Resume Lithotripsie par ondedechocbalistique chezun thoroughbred hondrede18ans. Uneperiode derecuperation postoperatoire prolongee etd'exercice reduits aeteevite parl'utilisation delalithotripsie parondedechocbalistique pourbriser un calcul vesicale de8cm dediametre et parlavage desresidus sablonneux sousanesthesie epidurale enposition debout. Leretablissement futsanshistoire. CanVetJ1999; 40:185-186 (Traduit pardocteurAndre' Blouin) A n18-year-old, Thoroughbred gelding wasexamined byaprivate veterinary practitioner (JH) fora4-week history ofhematuria after exercise. Findings onphysi- calexamination, including palpation perrectum, were within normal limits, andresults ofacomplete blood cell countandabiochemical profile wereunremarkable. Twoweekslater, signs ofhematuria, stranguria, and intermittent dysuria wereapparent, andthehorse was referred totheOntario Veterinary College Veterinary Teaching Hospital withatentative diagnosis ofaurinary tract massorcalculus. Findings ofaphysical examina- tion ofthegelding werenormal, except that palpation per rectum revealed afirm, 6-to8-cmdiameter masswithin thebladder. Ultrasonographic evaluation ofthebladder perrectum wasinconclusive, duetothedebris andsed- imentwithin thelumen. Undersedation, cystoscopy wasperformed byusing aflexible 6-mmdiameter endo- scope. Thisrevealed mildurethritis, cystitis, andan 8-cmdiameter, round, rough-surfaced, yellow calculus. Urinalysis collected atthesametimeshowed amildly elevated protein (>1gAL), ahigh number oferythrocytes (4+), andcalcium carbonate crystals (3+). Bacterial cul- ture oftheurine resulted innogrowth ofmicroorganisms. Ultrasonography ofthekidneys wasperformed torule outrenal calculi, butnoabnormalities weredetected. A complete bloodcell countrevealed amildmature neutrophilia (7.92 X 109/L) andabiochemical profile showed amildly increased haptoglobin (0.76 g/L), con- sistent withaninflammatory response.