Canine Kidney Surgery

If your dog has been diagnosed with kidney disease or kidney failure, your veterinarian will likely recommend a treatment program consisting of hydration therapy, a specialty diet and medication. However, what he may not tell you is that canine kidney surgery is also an option, although still not a widely available one.

  1. Definition

    • Kidney disease is a terminal condition in which the kidneys can no longer filter out wastes from the body properly. Ensuring a proper balance of electrolytes in your pooch through hydration therapy, reducing the amount of wastes that must be filtered out through a specialty diet, and maintaining essential chemical balances in the body through medication can help prolong a dog's life. However, the prognosis is always terminal, unless a new kidney is located and put into your ailing pup.

    Availability

    • Dog kidney transplantation is by no means a common procedure. In fact, you may be hard pressed to find a local veterinarian who performs this procedure. Fortunately, large veterinary centers, particularly those affiliated with veterinary schools, are increasingly offering this procedure to members of the public, but on a very selective basis. This means that if you're willing to travel to get your dog to a facility performing kidney transplantation and can meet selection criteria, there is hope.

    Obstacles

    • Canine kidney transplantation has advanced quite a bit in the last decade, with more surgeries resulting in successful transplantation. However, there are still many obstacles that both you and your pooch must overcome. First, there is the matter of cost. Kidney transplantation can quickly reach more than $7,000, according to The Pet Center, and that's without taking into account the traveling you may need to do to. Second, there is always a very real chance that your dog's body will reject the donor organ.

    Controversy

    • The last obstacle is the matter of finding a donor. If you have another dog with compatible blood type, you can give consent to have your healthy pet donate one organ. Otherwise, you will have to adopt and commit to caring for a second, donor dog. However, you may find rescue groups and shelters unwilling to adopt out an animal simply so that he can be used as a kidney donor. However, you must think carefully about whether subjecting a healthy dog to major surgery is truly ethical or morally right. While you may want nothing more than you beloved pooch to live, you are also putting a second life at risk to save your dog's life.

    Post Surgical Considerations

    • A dog that has a kidney transplant isn't automatically ensured a long, healthy life. In fact, dogs, like humans, will need to be on immunosuppressant drugs for the rest of their lives to ensure the body continues to accept the donated organ. These powerful medications can have unpleasant side effects and can cost more than $2,000 per month for a 60 lb. dog, according to The Pet Center.