"9417Singapore Perineal hernia in the dog, pet health and welfare educational for animal lovers, excerpts from The Glamorous Vets, Singapore, sponsored by  AsiaHomes Internet.

The dog with a big backside swelling.
Was it a perineal hernia or not?

"My dog has a big lump on its left backside," said the healthy and trim 82-year Mr Neil Archer.

 "Will you make a house-call and see what's wrong.  He is a very aggressive dog who guards the house well.  10 years old male, " said Mr Archer whom I had not seen for over 10 years.

It is much easier for doctors to make house-calls but not veterinarians as the  aggressive canine patients would be much harder to manage at its own home territory.  Many owners prefer house-calls and may think that all veterinarians should be able to control any fierce dog.  Just one look and the dog would shiver.  Veterinarians do not have the magic and some of the younger ones had been mauled by aggressive dogs while doing house calls. 

Singapore was having one of its heat wave.  It was real hot on this May 14 Sunday afternoon.  Visions of struggling with the canine client and everybody getting bitten were in my mind. 

For all you know, the dog might even escaped out of the house.  He was said to be a good jumper, having grown up with kittens.   It sounded as if an operation might be needed and it would be futile to make house call for this sort of canine condition.  A big swelling could mean lots of things.

The dog transport service brought the cross-bred to the clinic.  The lump was as big as the biggest orange, located on the left side of the anus.  It was a swelling with 2 irregular hard lumps of over 1 inch and a half-circle edge.  It was discovered 3 weeks ago and the dog was irritated by it as it would not go away.


If it was a perineal hernia, it would not have an encircling rim of hard tissue although one could not rule this out.  This hard tissue rim could be nature's effort to seal up the swelling and fluid.

Butch was tranquilised after his heart was checked to be in good condition.  He was having a good appetite but nobody knew whether he had trouble passing stools or urine.   He was well looked after judging by his excellent body condition and coat.  No signs of skin disease except for the big pigmentation near the big swelling.  Dogs do lick at big swellings trying to get its size reduced.

15 minutes later, Butch could not stand up.  He was put on the table and  the tail area was clipped.  A small half-inch incision (see red spot on image) near the left side of the anus was made with a scalpel.  Over 200 ml of pinkish fluid with no smell, spurted out like a fountain spout.  The swelling deflated.

It was a haematoma.  An artery must have burst and the blood must have clotted to consolidate into the hard tissue and lumps.

It appeared to be a traumatic injury. 

"Is there another dog in the house?"  There was a 2 year-old male Dalmatian who was hyperactive, jumping onto Butch all the time.  Was it attempting to mate with Butch?  Could it have caused more than a haematoma?  Butch may still have a perineal hernia.  The next 2 days would reveal any more swelling but for this hot afternoon, his discomfort had been alleviated and the swelling was reduced by 90%.

This procedure definitely could not be done by a house-call.  It was good that the drainage of the haematoma was done 3 weeks later as the bleeding would have stopped by the back pressure.  Any earlier incision would cause considerable blood loss.

The grandfather, son and grown up daughter came and Butch was not so worried at being alone at the veterinary clinic.  The family was a close one as you seldom see 3 generations bringing a dog on a Sunday afternoon to a veterinarian.  Butch himself could be considered 70-year old in human years and was certainly a member of the family.   

Would this be the end of the story?  Would the bleeding recur again as the big blood vessel must have originated from inside the abdomen and had ruptured in this big herniated area.

There are sometimes surprises for the veterinarian. This case was not resolved by drainage of the blood as the swelling returned the next day.  An operation was needed to remove the hard perineal sac and the gap was stitched up. It was not the typical perineal hernia case as there was no intestinal tissues or abdominal fat falling into this gap as to be expected in a perineal hernia described in veterinary text books.