{"id":1066,"date":"2018-07-03T11:55:49","date_gmt":"2018-07-03T15:55:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/?p=1066"},"modified":"2022-07-08T16:00:54","modified_gmt":"2022-07-08T20:00:54","slug":"vulvoplasty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.drphilzeltzman.com\/blog\/vulvoplasty\/","title":{"rendered":"You did cosmetic surgery on your dog’s WHAT???"},"content":{"rendered":"

Piper, a 6 year old Labrador, had battled bladder infections for her entire life. They cleared up with antibiotics, but kept coming back.<\/p>\n

\"Piper,<\/p>\n

Her family vet at South Mountain Veterinary Hospital (www.southmountainvethospital.com<\/a>) diagnosed what is called a redundant vulvar fold, which is an extra fold of skin covering her vulva. It is also called \u201crecessed vulva\u201d or \u201cvulvar fold dermatitis\u201d. This is a fairly common condition, especially in overweight dogs, and many go un-diagnosed for years.<\/p>\n

How can a skin fold cause bladder infections?<\/b><\/u><\/p>\n

The extra skin fold creates a deep pocket that traps urine. In turn, this pocket creates a warm, moist and dark environment, which is perfect for bacteria to multiply. This causes ongoing infections and sometimes a foul odor. Here is a picture of Piper\u2019s back end before surgery: you can\u2019t see her vulva at all.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Signs of bladder infections may include licking of the vulva, scooting of the back end, bloody urine and \u201caccidents\u201d in the house. Other conditions may cause similar signs, so your family vet should eliminate other problems, such as bladder stones and even bladder cancer.<\/p>\n

How can we fix this annoying condition?<\/b><\/u><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The Band-Aid approach is the \u201cmedical\u201d treatment. We only treat the symptoms by wiping the area and prescribing antibiotics. This does not treat the cause, so it often frustrating because the infection is likely to come back.<\/li>\n
  2. The ideal treatment is surgery. It\u2019s basically plastic surgery on a dog\u2019s vulva! Surgery involves removing the extra skin to provide better ventilation of the vulva.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    This reconstructive surgery is called a vulvoplasty or an episioplasty. The main difficulty of the surgery is to remove exactly the right amount of skin: not too much and not too little. Here is a picture of Piper\u2019s back end after surgery.<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    Recovery generally takes 3 weeks. I don\u2019t use external skin sutures, so there are no stitches to remove in this sensitive area\u2026 All stitches are internal and eventually dissolve. An E collar (plastic cone) is worn for the full 3 weeks to prevent licking and to protect the incision.<\/p>\n

    Overall, this is a common yet frustrating condition. Fortunately, surgery is typically very successful and pet owners are usually very happy with the end result\u2026 as well as their dogs!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Piper, a 6 year old Labrador, had battled bladder infections for her entire life. They cleared up with antibiotics, but kept coming back. Her family vet at South Mountain Veterinary Hospital (www.southmountainvethospital.com) diagnosed what is called a redundant vulvar fold, which is an extra fold of skin covering her vulva. It is also called \u201crecessed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[163,157,156,10,162],"class_list":["post-1066","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-episioplasty","tag-phil-zeltzman","tag-veterinary-surgeon","tag-veterinary-surgery","tag-vulvoplasty"],"yoast_head":"\nYou did cosmetic surgery on your dog's WHAT??? | Dr Phil Zeltzman\u2019s Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Piper, a 6 year old Labrador, had battled bladder infections for her entire life. 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