[Perineal hernia in the dog: developments in its treatment and retrospective study in 197 patients]

Perineal hernia repair by transposition of the internal obturator muscle and the results obtained with this method in 197 dogs are described. The most common breeds were the German shepherd, the Bouvier and the old English sheepdog, all of which were significantly over-represented when compared with the hospital population. A comparison of results obtained before 1982 with those from the period between 1985 and 1990 shows a significant decrease of the recurrence rate from 43% to 21%. There was no change in the percentage of patients with fecal incontinence. Wound infections occurred in 22% of the patients and were the most important complication. This implies a reduction of 50% compared with an earlier study of 100 patients. Eighty per cent of the owners classified the results of treatment as excellent or good. This is in accordance with results obtained in the United States with a similar method. The omittance of castration in dogs in which the prostate was of normal size did not result in an increased risk of recurrence and is considered to be justified.