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Date:   21 September, 2008

                              Focus:
 Small animals - dogs, cats, hamsters & rabbits

SURGERY HOURS: 
*10 a.m - 5 p.m (Mon - Sun, except Sat). Dr Sing Kong Yuen. By Appointment Only.

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Be Kind To Pets
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Toa Payoh Vets Clinical Research
Making veterinary surgery alive
to a veterinary student studying in Australia
using real case studies and pictures

UMBILICAL HERNIA REPAIR IN
TWO SHIH TZU PUPPIES
Case written: Aug 9, 2003. Case updated: Sep 20, 2008
Dr Sing Kong Yuen, BVMS (Glasgow), MRCVS.

Case 1. Will the breeder permit the big bellied
Shih Tzu puppy be operated?

"The vet just wants to make money in proposing surgery," the breeder's eye brows furrowed when the buyer returned the 8-week-old Shih Tzu with a large navel swelling to him after a post-purchase veterinary examination.  "I have no problems in my female dogs with hernias of such sizes. They are still alive today."

The breeder continued, "The vet must be incompetent warning the buyer that the puppy may die under anaesthesia if the surgery is done."

So, what should I do now?  "You can sell the puppy at a discount of the veterinary fees and let the buyer do the surgery when the puppy has grown older," I said. "Puppies under 12 - 16 weeks old are high anaesthetic risks and the vet was doing the right thing to warn the buyer of possible death of the puppy on the operating table." 

The breeder could not wait till the puppy grows older as it would not be cute and would not be marketable.  The breeder decided to get the large umbilical hernia repaired.  I was not keen to operate under such risks but this case needed surgery.  So I took the challenge and the risks.

This was a strong Shih Tzu puppy. He survived the surgery which took at least 30 minutes as the muscle layers above the liver lobes were scattered apart or were not developed near the linea alba. 

The general anaesthetic gas was given at the lowest dose. He was just unconscious and not feeling the pain, but he was breathing fast.  Would his small heart fail? It was not possible to speed up the hernia repair as it was a large hole.

Shih Tzu with large umbilical hernia, Toa Payoh Vets, Singapore
The abdominal muscles of the right and left side of the abdomen could not be seen as the hernia is so large. They are further to the side. The liver lobes are normal although there seem to be two pimples on one lobe.

He woke up immediately when the last stitch was placed and that was a good sign of a very healthy patient. He was returned to the breeder for nursing immediately.  He could not take the car ride and vomited up some fluid.

This breeder was good with puppies and seldom consulted the vets. The only thing he could not save money on was how to repair the defect in the muscle wall.

This was not just a simple umbilical hernia but included defects in the abdominal  muscle walls.  The muscles were spread so far apart that I had to search for them far away from the hernia area and bring two parts to stitch them together.  I trimmed a bit of the skin to give the puppy a trim tummy.    

It was a surprise that the intestinal loops did not get trapped (incarcerated hernia) or twisted (strangulated). The hernia disappeared when the puppy was placed upside down.  It was a reducible hernia more than 10 cm in diameter but the puppy was very active and healthy.  Large hernias need to be repaired.  When the Shih Tzu feels the pain or discomfort of the gut being twisted and deprived of blood supply, it may be too late.  

Case 2.
Breeder Education. Another professional dog breeder had this Shih Tzu with a large umbilical hernia presented to Dr Sing. 
 
 
UPDATE 2008.
Education of the breeder is very important. Extension visit to the breeding farms by the vet is the most effective way of education and building up a good working relationship but that takes up a lot of time. 

It was possible at that time in 2003 - 2004 that breeders shared a common parental stock, imported from overseas. I saw cases of umbilical hernias in Shih Tzu puppies amongst the "big professional dog breeders" in Singapore.

Singaporean buyers are much more sophisticated in 2008 as the internet provides a wealth of free information.  Some will return the puppies with hernias as they discover the lumps after purchase. This return pose problems for the breeder or the pet shop owner as time has been wasted in such transactions. 

Therefore, it is best to get the umbilical hernia repaired as early as possible. Better not to breed from affected parental stock. Very rarely are there such big hernias in Singapore's Shih Tzus as at 2008. No more challenging puppy anaesthesia and surgeries for me. The breeders have retired me to pasture.

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Clinical Research
Be Kind To Pets

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