Dog with Perianal Fistulas

Dog with Perianal Fistulas

A fistula is an abnormal draining tract from one area of the body to another. The majority of fistulas are caused by foreign bodies, such as gunshot wounds or splinters, but there are some inherited fistulas, such as a tract from the lower bowel to the vaginal area.

A fistula developed in one of our patients draining to the outside of the skin from the side at the flank area. X-rays revealed a needle near the spine that we suspect had been swallowed and which worked its way through the bowel to its location. Unless the source is reached and removed a fistula will usually heal and rupture every month or so for the remainder of the dog’s life.

With a compound fracture, a chip of bone may be infected, resulting in a tract from the chip through the skin. The chip must be removed to correct this problem.

The following are the symptoms that would help you to detect that your dog is suffering from fistulas.

Symptoms of Dog with Perianal Fistulas

• The animal suffering from fistula would defecate stools that are accompanied by intense pain, blood, and mucus. The animal would either be seen suffering from diarrhea or chronic constipation.
• The dog would also be seen to be excessively licking and biting the skin of the anal part out of irritation and pain.
• Since the disease characterizes chronic pain the affected dog would find it to be feeling restless while excretion stools. It might cry out of pain while defecating. Sometimes the affected dogs might also intend to bite when somebody tries to lift the tail of the dog.
• The affected dogs to rather seem to be suffering from subsequent incidences of intestinal diarrhea.

The dogs of German shepherd breeds seem to be suffering more than dogs belonging to other breeds. Since the base of their tail is broad and in most cases, the tail is held in between the two bones of the hip girdle covering the anal part, the dogs are examined to be in intense pain if suffering from fistulas. For diagnosing the disease in a vet clinic complete medical history of the dog is studied with a digital rectal examination also carried out. Several times the perianal fistulas mainly occur due to the obstruction of the anal sacks. So, for diagnosing the fistulas several times samples of the cells or the tissues of the fistulas are taken and examined keenly. The bacterial culture, aspiration cytology, and histopathology are also done.

The disease has been noted to be recurring in nature. The once-affected dogs get highly prone to the incidence of the disease. The treatment of the disease is generally taken over by certified doctors.

Provide your pet dog with a normal protein-rich diet. On taking your dog to the vet clinic the vet doctor might administer antibiotics like metronidazole, and anti-inflammatory drugs like prednisone, cyclosporine, and azathioprine. Surgical treatments are also quite effective in case the fistula does not get cured even after being administered with proper medication.

See more: Edema In Dogs