Monty is a 12 year old male Airedale Terrier who had been living with a large perineal hernia for some time. A perineal hernia occurs when the muscles on either side of a dog's bottom become weak allowing some of the contents of their abdomen to bulge out under the skin. It is not an uncommon problem in male dogs that have not been desexed as the development of this condition is affected by testosterone.
Monty's owner noticed a change in his hernia one night and Monty was collapsed and weak.
An initial blood test suggested Monty may have renal failure but an abdominal ultrasound showed Monty had fluid in his abdomen. A sample of this fluid was collected and we found that Monty had a build of urine in his abdomen which was causing peritonitis (inflammation of the inside the abdomen). We were suspicious that Monty had a tear in his bladder and the urine in his abdomen increased this suspicion. Xrays were taken after some dye was injected into a catheter placed in Monty's urethra and the xrays showed the dye leaking out of Monty's torn bladder.
The reason that Monty's bladder had ruptured was that it had becomes trapped in his perineal hernia. We went to surgery at about 10 pm and repaired a 4cm tear in the bladder and desexed him. Desexing reduces the risk of a perineal hernia developing, in Monty's case it was aimed at keeping the remaining muscles as healthy and strong as possible. Monty recovered well from his surgery but needed special care for a couple of days until he was strong enough for a second surgery to repair his perineal hernia.
Monty had a few days in hospital in intensive care after his perineal hernia repair and needed lots of TLC and some strong pain relief medication. Monty's family were regular visitors and he had a marvellous home-made poster which we put up in his hospital bed. He spent a lot of time with his head resting on his favourite green cushion or his owner Sally's lap.
Monty is a beautiful natured dog and recently celebrated his 12th birthday. We wish him all the best and hope he continues to enjoy playing with is best friend Daphne.
