Simba is a 10 year old Japanese Akita. His owners brought him to the vets at the end of November as he had become incontinent at home. Simba was an un-neutered male dog. On clinical examination Rebecca noted that Simba only had one desecended testicle, this is known as cryptorchidism. On abdominal palpation Rebecca suspected that Simba may have a mass in his abdomen, due to an intra-abdominal testicular growth. Simba was booked in for an abdominal ultra-sound scan the following week.
The ultra-sound scan confirmed that a mass was present in the abdomen and due to the location of the mass the most likely cause was a testicular tumour. Simba was booked in for surgery.
Matt operated on Simba to investigate the abdominal mass. The mass proved to be a very large testicular tumour and which Matt then surgically removed. The mass alone weighed 2kg! Matt then also surgically removed the descended testicle. The image shows the difference in size between the descended testicle and the testicular tumour. Simba has made an excellent recovery.
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| Matt operating to remove the mass | The large testicular mass weighed 2kg! | The mass and the normal testicle. |
What is Cryptorchidism?
- A hereditary condition.
- One or both testicles fail to descend from the abdomen (where they develop) into the scrotum.
- The undescended testicle may remain within the abdomen or it may be located in the inguinal (groin) tissues.
- The retained testicle is a potential source of problems, particularly cancer or torsion (twisting) if it is not removed.
Castration
- Neutering in male dogs is recommended from six months of age.
- If your pet is still cryptorchid by 6 months of age, it is highly unlikely that the testicle will ever descended.
- Neutering is the receommended treatment for cryptorchid pets to prevent testicular tumours and passing on this genetic trait to future generations.
- If the testicle is not readily palpable in the inguinal canal (groin area), abdominal exploration is necessary to find the retained testicle.
