Health
Thomas's Story
Perineal Hernia
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The region surrounding the anus and the pelvis is
known as the perineum. Underneath the skin there is a muscular diaphragm, a
defect can allow deviation of the rectum and protrusion of the pelvic and
sometimes abdominal contents including the bladder. The condition can occur in
bitches, but is has been recognised for many years as a disease of older
uncastrated dogs. The peak age incidence is approx. 8 years. I don’t think there
is anything specific that causes it. Straining, diarrhoea, congenital weakness
or hormonal imbalance has all been implicated. Signs include swelling on one or
both sides of the anus with constant straining.
I have to confess that I knew nothing about this condition until Thomas was
diagnosed with it. He is 9 years old and has always been a bit of a ‘picky
eater’. Most days he would eat, then he would get a day of rumbling tummy and
refuse to eat anything. His faeces have always been small compared to our other
dogs. We used to refer to them as Thomas’s rabbit droppings! Despite
investigations at the vets no problems were discovered. Thomas lived happily and
the rumbling tummy happened roughly once a month. Six months ago Thomas started
to strain really hard and it took ages for anything to come out. He was very
swollen both sides of his anus. (He looked a bit like those Baboons). The vet
said that he has double perineal hernias. In other words both sides had gone.
His prostate was enlarged which would have contributed to the straining which in
turn caused the hernia.
It was awful to watch Thomas, he would take ages to defecate. It was
obviously very worrying for him, he was not a happy boy. It made us feel so
helpless there was nothing we could do. The swelling on both sides of his anus
became known as Thomas’s pockets. They would fill with his faeces, which the vet
would empty. The vet explained that the first step was castration. This would
cause the prostate to shrink and help with the straining problem. Another option
was an operation, he said it was a major op and they could only do one side at a
time. There would need to be a 5-week gap in between. He said that in his
opinion it was only effective short term. The repair did not seem to last. We
decided we couldn’t put Thomas through two operations at his age especially if
there was no long-term benefit. (After talking to various people since that had
the operation I’m glad we made that decision. Their dogs ops did not seem to
last)
It is now six months since Thomas was castrated and he is a much happier boy. We
have had a few setbacks but they have been my fault. Although his prostate has
shrunk, his hernias are obviously still there so he will need quite a high fibre
diet for the rest of his life. I over loaded him with things like brown rice,
pasta, vegetables etc. The poor boy was emptying his bowels several times a day.
It seems to be a very fine line to get the balance right for him. He now has his
normal food, tripe, small amount of complete food, any vegetables that are going
and brown rice etc now and again. He has Nutrifyba and a small dose of liquid
paraffin on his food daily. (His treat each morning is a digestive biscuit and a
small bowl of milk) This does seem to be working for him. He has put some weight
on and really enjoys his food now, long may it continue.
Shirley Carr 16-10-05
© Shirley Carr-2005 - all rights reserved