Tortoise saved after vets cut hole in shell to remove huge bladder stone

By Sophie Watson via SWNS

A 50-year-old tortoise was saved by vets who cut a hole in her shell to remove a huge bladder stone.

Worried owner Alei Wigmore feared the worst when an x-ray revealed a large growth the “size of a bunch of bananas” blocking her pet Frieda’s abdomen.

Vets sedated Frieda and used a saw to slice a small square hole in her shell before fishing out the bladder stone.

Incredibly, the stone weighed 600g – a third of 1.9kg Frieda’s entire body weight.

After vets removed the stone, they glued Frieda’s shell back together using dental putty.

Her relieved owner Alei, 60, from Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, said: “We were incredibly shocked and the thought of losing Frieda after 50 years was very upsetting.

“We had no idea she even had an issue. We only knew she had looked to lay eggs
in the summer but we couldn’t find any.

“Consequently, when we she had her pre-hibernation check, we asked for an x-ray and that was when this large mass was identified.

“We felt guilty in case we had contributed to it and anxious about what could be done, as we knew Frieda would not survive with the stone so leaving it was not an option.

“We were also very concerned as we knew it would be a big deal for her and we had no experience of tortoise surgery.”

Frieda underwent the six-hour procedure at Linnaeus-owned Southfields Veterinary Specialists in Basildon, Essex, last month.

Vet Calvo Carrasco said: “Frieda first presented at her local vets as she had been straining to pass her eggs and not laying any.

“An x-ray revealed there was a large mass in the coelom (the reptile abdomen) and that’s when Frieda was then referred to us.

“She was 1.9kg when she was admitted to Southfields and the bladder stone was 600g, almost a third of that. Even I was shocked by the size of it.

“It was a similar weight to a small bunch of bananas.

“It was so large the best method of treatment was surgery. We took her to surgery and entered the ceolom (reptile abdomen) by cutting through the bottom of the shell.

“Once inside, we removed the stone and the eggs that had become stuck. We replaced the shell and fixed it in place with dental putty and woke her up.

"From pre-medication to recovery, it took about six hours.”

Frieda has since recovered and is back home.

Alei added: “Frieda’s recovery has taken a while, as it would with a tortoise.

“She stopped eating shortly after surgery and needed daily injections until we got her eating again.

“She’s so much better now. I am sure she is much more comfortable and is certainly making up for missing out of a few weeks of food.”