Hopefully that's a light at the end of the tunnel....

Margi

Margi

Premium Member
I wanted to bring you all up to speed on Benny. Some of you may recall his ongoing 3-year battle with chronic constipation. We never could figure out why he couldn’t poop on his own, despite all the x-rays and ultrasounds, and just resigned to controlling it with Miralax twice a day. Well, Thursday we finally got an answer — in the most surprising way possible! Benny had a cyst on his rear leg that burst, so Dr. Amy took him in to remove it. I asked her to check on a new big mass up by the base of his tail. We decided to take that out while he was already under, since the cost of aspirating and biospy would be the same as if she just took it out while he was under. She made the incision… and immediately stopped. It wasn’t a tumor — it was his colon herniating through a perineal hernia! She closed him right back up because fixing a hernia is beyond her skills. So now I gotta get the surgery scheduled and this is a sooner than later thing. And its already Friday! After finding out the first available slot was next Wednesday with a resident, I was dismayed. But then the office called back — Dr. Dixon (the owner and a board-certified surgeon at Southwest Veterinary Surgical Services here in Tucson) had a Monday morning cancellation! So Benny goes in 10:30 Monday, hopefully for the full perineal hernia repair. We’re all feeling so much relief now that we finally have a diagnosis that explains everything! Amy was gobsmacked--she's saying What is that?? That's not a cyst OMG its his colon!

However, he hasn't pooped since he got home Thursday. His poor little butt is one swollen, red, stapled mess and I don't know if he Can't go or he Won't go cuz it hurts so bad. If he gets sick from it I will have to take him in to the ER. Can't believe here I am again--on a weekend with a dog that can't go.
If I can just get him through to the vets on Monday morning without a crisis this weekend, this horrible chapter should be coming to a close! This little guy has been through so much but I think we’re finally turning the corner.

If any of you have been through perineal hernia repair with your Shelties (or know someone who has), I’d love to hear your experiences — tips, recovery, anything.
 
Wow Margi, that is just shocking how the vet found it…you must’ve been shocked as well! Go in for a simple procedure and find that!
It does sound like it’s a fairly common procedure with standard procedures in place that will hopefully help Benny out!
I found this online from a different vet but it does describe the surgery in some detail. It might help you out.
I’ll send you my prayers for a good weekend and that Benny is able to go…is he on pain medication?
 
Margi and I have talked by phone so I will be brief here. This is just the craziest scenario and we can all only hope that once this crisis has passed he will be fine, and able to poop on his own. Poor little Benny has absolutely been through the ringer and it's hard to believe with all his exams, scans, and specialist vets, no-one caught this. Let's give a collective Sheltie Nation wish to see Benny though this safely!!!
 
Sharon7 said:
Margi and I have talked by phone so I will be brief here. This is just the craziest scenario and we can all only hope that once this crisis has passed he will be fine, and able to poop on his own. Poor little Benny has absolutely been through the wringer and it's hard to believe with all his exams, scans, and specialist vets, no-one caught this. Let's give a collective Sheltie Nation wish to see Benny though this safely!!!
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It really is hard to believe that had it not been for this ‘mass’ (that wasn’t a mass) and the cyst that burst it could’ve gone undetected for considerably longer! Poor Benny has been through a lot and Margi…I can’t even imagine what she’s been through! I hope and pray this will solve his issues and he’ll be able to go normally!
I’m pretty busy right now but I’ll try to check in on Monday for the update (that’s if I remember what day of the week it is lol)!
Sending positive thoughts!!!
 
Oh Margi, what a way to get the diagnosis you tried so hard to find months (maybe years!) ago! Certainly it's a good thing you finally have an answer and a way to fix poor Benny, but the waiting is murder. At least there's only one more day to get through. I'm glad you were able to get the surgery scheduled so quickly! Endless waits for surgical appointments these days seems to be the norm.

Can you perhaps give him more of a liquid diet until Monday morning? A lot of broth, or diluted baby food? I hope you don't have to take him to ER!

FWIW, Flurry's recent colon surgery -- the one she had to have done before they could do her gallbladder this week -- was a type of herniia surgery. It was one of the easiest I've dealt with. My surgeon removed the mass on her colon and used internal sutures so when she came home there was no incision to worry about. She didn't poop for about two days, and it took a full month for her poops to be back to normal again. I'd gotten used to her doing pencil thin poops five or six times a day and once this healed she was finally able to produce normal ones. What a relief! I hope Benny has the same outcome.

Hang in there, Benny (and Margi!) The end is in sight. And yes, that's a pun! Sending pats and hugs your way and prayers for a good outcome Monday. Please keep us posted! :hugs
 
Oh my goodness! I feel SOOOO bad for Bennie, but wow, what a way to find an answer to Bennie's pooping problems!

Will be praying for you both tomorrow!
 
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