{"id":1908,"date":"2022-04-05T11:55:00","date_gmt":"2022-04-05T15:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/?p=1908"},"modified":"2022-07-11T11:38:04","modified_gmt":"2022-07-11T15:38:04","slug":"what-caused-kona-to-lose-a-kidney","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/what-caused-kona-to-lose-a-kidney\/","title":{"rendered":"What caused Kona to lose a kidney?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Kona, a female Lab, was only 1 year old, yet she had had several bladder infections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Kona,<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Rather than keeping her on repeated antibiotics, her family vet looked into the situation and discovered that Kona had an extra fold over her vulva.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This common (and under-diagnosed) condition is called a \u201credundant vulvar fold,\u201d \u201cvulvar fold dermatitis,\u201d \u201crecessed vulva\u201d or \u201chooded vulva\u201d (see below a picture in another patient, a 6 year old Newfie, where the vulva is barely visible).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Redundant<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The treatment is a reconstructive surgery called vulvoplasty or episioplasty. The goal is to remove the extra skin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The main challenge is to remove just the right amount. Not too little, and not too much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kona\u2019s pet owner wisely chose to have her spayed under the same anesthesia. Her vet asked me to look into the possibility of a malformation of her urinary system called an ectopic ureter. The ureter is the tiny tube between the kidney and the bladder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a possibility because Kona was constantly leaking urine, i.e. she was incontinent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During surgery, we removed the extra skin fold, spayed her, found no ectopic ureter\u2026 but found another condition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She had a hydro-ureter, i.e. a ureter that was huge, about 5 times bigger than on the other side. This required removing it, and sacrificing the kidney on the same side \u2013 of course after calling the owner in the middle of surgery to request permission to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Surgery was uneventful, and Kona recovered smoothly from anesthesia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is a (warning, graphic) picture of the kidney and the enlarged ureter (hydro-ureter) in another patient, a 6 year old Malamute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Three weeks later, her owner EB writes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cKona is doing well. I have not noticed any leaking and when she urinates, it is a steady stream. Her incision looks great and she is her spunky self.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Obviously, this is an unusual situation, but a good reminder to keep an open mind when a patient has an unusual situation, like leaking urine constantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Phil Zeltzman, DVM, DACVS, CVJ, Fear Free <\/em>Certified<\/p>\n\n\n\n

www.DrPhilZeltzman.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kona, a female Lab, was only 1 year old, yet she had had several bladder infections. Rather than keeping her on repeated antibiotics, her family vet looked into the situation and discovered that Kona had an extra fold over her vulva. This common (and under-diagnosed) condition is called a \u201credundant vulvar fold,\u201d \u201cvulvar fold dermatitis,\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[163,292,157,68,156,10,162],"class_list":["post-1908","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-episioplasty","tag-hydroureter","tag-phil-zeltzman","tag-spay","tag-veterinary-surgeon","tag-veterinary-surgery","tag-vulvoplasty"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat caused Kona to lose a kidney? | Dr Phil Zeltzman\u2019s Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Kona, a female Lab, was only 1 year old, yet she had had several bladder infections.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/what-caused-kona-to-lose-a-kidney\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What caused Kona to lose a kidney? | Dr Phil Zeltzman\u2019s Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Kona, a female Lab, was only 1 year old, yet she had had several bladder infections.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/what-caused-kona-to-lose-a-kidney\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Dr Phil Zeltzman\u2019s Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DrZeltzman\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"PhilZeltzman\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-04-05T15:55:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-07-11T15:38:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Kona-face.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dr. Phil Zeltzman\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dr. Phil Zeltzman\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/what-caused-kona-to-lose-a-kidney\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/what-caused-kona-to-lose-a-kidney\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Dr. Phil Zeltzman\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f7a1e1d287769c21b7f44ad05ffdeabe\"},\"headline\":\"What caused Kona to lose a kidney?\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-04-05T15:55:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-07-11T15:38:04+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/what-caused-kona-to-lose-a-kidney\/\"},\"wordCount\":348,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/what-caused-kona-to-lose-a-kidney\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Kona-face.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"episioplasty\",\"hydroureter\",\"phil zeltzman\",\"spay\",\"veterinary surgeon\",\"veterinary surgery\",\"vulvoplasty\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/what-caused-kona-to-lose-a-kidney\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/what-caused-kona-to-lose-a-kidney\/\",\"name\":\"What caused Kona to lose a kidney? | Dr Phil Zeltzman\u2019s Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/what-caused-kona-to-lose-a-kidney\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/what-caused-kona-to-lose-a-kidney\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Kona-face.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-04-05T15:55:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-07-11T15:38:04+00:00\",\"description\":\"Kona, a female Lab, was only 1 year old, yet she had had several bladder infections.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/what-caused-kona-to-lose-a-kidney\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/what-caused-kona-to-lose-a-kidney\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/what-caused-kona-to-lose-a-kidney\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Kona-face.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Kona-face.jpg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1280},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/what-caused-kona-to-lose-a-kidney\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What caused Kona to lose a kidney?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Dr Phil Zeltzman\u2019s Blog\",\"description\":\"Serious advice for true pet lovers\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Dr Phil Zeltzman\u2019s Blog\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/logo.png\",\"width\":529,\"height\":79,\"caption\":\"Dr Phil Zeltzman\u2019s Blog\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DrZeltzman\/\",\"https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/drphilzeltzman\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/drphilzeltzman\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f7a1e1d287769c21b7f44ad05ffdeabe\",\"name\":\"Dr. Phil Zeltzman\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c0716bcce983917b17547ea6ef8cad3e572c2a103cfa0fb8feb134b55c266187?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c0716bcce983917b17547ea6ef8cad3e572c2a103cfa0fb8feb134b55c266187?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dr. Phil Zeltzman\"},\"sameAs\":[\"PhilZeltzman\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/author\/christiekeith\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What caused Kona to lose a kidney? | Dr Phil Zeltzman\u2019s Blog","description":"Kona, a female Lab, was only 1 year old, yet she had had several bladder infections.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/what-caused-kona-to-lose-a-kidney\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What caused Kona to lose a kidney? | Dr Phil Zeltzman\u2019s Blog","og_description":"Kona, a female Lab, was only 1 year old, yet she had had several bladder infections.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/what-caused-kona-to-lose-a-kidney\/","og_site_name":"Dr Phil Zeltzman\u2019s Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DrZeltzman\/","article_author":"PhilZeltzman","article_published_time":"2022-04-05T15:55:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-07-11T15:38:04+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Kona-face.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Dr. Phil Zeltzman","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dr. Phil Zeltzman","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/what-caused-kona-to-lose-a-kidney\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/what-caused-kona-to-lose-a-kidney\/"},"author":{"name":"Dr. Phil Zeltzman","@id":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f7a1e1d287769c21b7f44ad05ffdeabe"},"headline":"What caused Kona to lose a kidney?","datePublished":"2022-04-05T15:55:00+00:00","dateModified":"2022-07-11T15:38:04+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/what-caused-kona-to-lose-a-kidney\/"},"wordCount":348,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/what-caused-kona-to-lose-a-kidney\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Kona-face.jpg","keywords":["episioplasty","hydroureter","phil zeltzman","spay","veterinary surgeon","veterinary surgery","vulvoplasty"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/what-caused-kona-to-lose-a-kidney\/","url":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/what-caused-kona-to-lose-a-kidney\/","name":"What caused Kona to lose a kidney? | Dr Phil Zeltzman\u2019s Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/what-caused-kona-to-lose-a-kidney\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/what-caused-kona-to-lose-a-kidney\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Kona-face.jpg","datePublished":"2022-04-05T15:55:00+00:00","dateModified":"2022-07-11T15:38:04+00:00","description":"Kona, a female Lab, was only 1 year old, yet she had had several bladder infections.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/what-caused-kona-to-lose-a-kidney\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/what-caused-kona-to-lose-a-kidney\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/what-caused-kona-to-lose-a-kidney\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Kona-face.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Kona-face.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/what-caused-kona-to-lose-a-kidney\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What caused Kona to lose a kidney?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/","name":"Dr Phil Zeltzman\u2019s Blog","description":"Serious advice for true pet lovers","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Dr Phil Zeltzman\u2019s Blog","url":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/logo.png","width":529,"height":79,"caption":"Dr Phil Zeltzman\u2019s Blog"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DrZeltzman\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/drphilzeltzman\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/drphilzeltzman"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f7a1e1d287769c21b7f44ad05ffdeabe","name":"Dr. Phil Zeltzman","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c0716bcce983917b17547ea6ef8cad3e572c2a103cfa0fb8feb134b55c266187?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c0716bcce983917b17547ea6ef8cad3e572c2a103cfa0fb8feb134b55c266187?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Dr. Phil Zeltzman"},"sameAs":["PhilZeltzman"],"url":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/author\/christiekeith\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1908","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1908"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1908\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2270,"href":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1908\/revisions\/2270"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1908"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1908"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1908"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}