Elective castration is performed primarily to reduce overpopulation, but also has many other positive incentives.
- Decreases male aggressiveness and roaming behavior
- Reduces incidence of undesirable urination behaviors
- Reduces the incidence of diseases of the prostate and possibility of tumors of the perineal area
- Helps prevent the occurrence of perineal hernia formation
- Prevents tumors involving the testes
- Controls hormonal abnormalities
Castration, or orchiectomy, is the surgical removal of the testicles. For dogs with both testicles descended into the scrotum, a single incision is made in the skin just in front of the scrotum. The testicles are then exteriorized one by one, the spermatic cord(s) & testicular artery and vein are ligated, and then the testicle is removed.
Most castration incisions are closed with buried sutures to decrease the tendency for licking of the incision area - therefore no post-operative appointment is necessary for suture removal.
Most dogs do well after surgery with minimal or no post-operative complications.
- Excessive licking requires some type of restraint device (Elizabethan collar or e-collar) to be worn to prevent trauma to the incision.
- A small amount of body fluid may accumulate in the scrotum. This fluid usually disappears within 2 weeks.
- Not all dogs castrated for roaming or behavioral problems show significant improvement after castration - for this problem castration performed early in life is much better!
Post-operative care: Pets should be kept as quiet as possible for the initial 10-14 days after surgery. Play should be restricted during this time to short leash walks only. If possible, except for going outside for elimination purposes, the pet should be kept indoors in a clean and dry environment until the incisions have healed.
Pictures:
1. Skin incision
2. Exteriorization of the testicle
3. Ligation of the spermatic cord and testicular vessels
4. Ligation of the testicular tunic
5. Closure of the subcutaneous tissues
6. Closure of the skin
7. Completed closure
