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hello everyone!
i apologize if I’m posting wrong. it’s been awhile- i was a lurker when i got my first mastiff 5 years ago, and now i have a new baby so i’m trying to rejoin the community :)
this one is a pure EM, while my first is an english/bullmastiff mix.

my main question, if anyone sees this— has anyone here had a mastiff with a scrotal hernia?
my vet suspected it around the 3 month mark, so i took him to a new vet for a second opinion. i am a former vet tech, and had somehow never personally seen this in my practice. so i began researching, and everything came back as “inguinal hernia”. assuming that was just the medical term for scrotal hernia, i told the second vet that’s what i needed checked. she confirmed that he does have an inguinal hernia, referred me to a board certified surgeon, who then corrected me that it is a scrotal hernia, not inguinal, which is different.
simply put, he has intestines present in his scrotum. we always thought he was going to be cryptorchid and that he just had a larger-than-normal/squishy scrotum, until eventually finding out that’s because it is full of intestines, which is why this could result in a sudden emergency situation at any moment if strangulated.
harvey goes in for surgery this wednesday, in 2 days. he is 5 months old. the two GP vets i saw both recommended neutering him early to fix all of this at the same time. i strongly opposed neutering him this young, and i was so relieved that the surgeon agreed we should perform the hernia correction and attempt to leave the testicles intact i am, however, a little nervous about my 5 month pup getting an invasive surgery.
i just wanted to come here and ask if anyone else has experience with scrotal or even inguinal hernias in your giant babies. i would love to hear anyone’s thoughts, and i can share photos if anyone is interested.

thanks for listening!
 

Boxergirl

Well-Known Member
Hi and welcome. Geez, that's the first time I've heard of that. If you trust your vet, then I'd do exactly what they suggest and fix the hernia now and wait to neuter until later. May I suggest that if they're going to be "in the area" anyway you consider an elective gastropexy? I plan to do it for my next mastiff as I lost my girl to GDV last year despite knowing all the warning signs. Just a thought while they're going to be in there doing stuff. I would love to see pics of your boy. Not even the hernia. I just want to see giant baby pics. Please let us know what you decide and how things are going.
 
Hi and welcome. Geez, that's the first time I've heard of that. If you trust your vet, then I'd do exactly what they suggest and fix the hernia now and wait to neuter until later. May I suggest that if they're going to be "in the area" anyway you consider an elective gastropexy? I plan to do it for my next mastiff as I lost my girl to GDV last year despite knowing all the warning signs. Just a thought while they're going to be in there doing stuff. I would love to see pics of your boy. Not even the hernia. I just want to see giant baby pics. Please let us know what you decide and how things are going.
Thank you for mentioning this! I am likely going to gastropexy him, however the surgeon did not want to do that while he is this young and still growing(his hernia surgery is tomorrow, he’s 5 months now). So we will do that when he is under at the time of neutering. I regretted not pexy-ing my older mastiff, although he’s never had GDV. I was on the fence about it with the new boy, but I with all this surgery he’s getting(and the $) I think it’s worth the extra precaution. I’m sorry about your girl :( that has always been my biggest fear.

I’m not sure if I know how to add photos but hopefully this works :) Here is Harvey!
 

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Boxergirl

Well-Known Member
Hi Harvey! Oh, I love his name. It suits him. I'll be thinking of you guys tomorrow. Please update when you can.
 

sjdavenport

Well-Known Member
No advice on the scrotal hernia - although I would choose the exact route you've elected - repair with a boarded surgeon and delay neuter until later. Since you've already developed a relationship with a surgeon and likely to pursue gastropexy, I'd inquire if they have laparoscopy available for his future pexy. I chose to do that with my girl (even though her spay was done simultaneously with an open approach), and the pexy incision was so tiny! I would 100% pursue a laparoscopic gastropexy with my next dog as well.
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No advice on the scrotal hernia - although I would choose the exact route you've elected - repair with a boarded surgeon and delay neuter until later. Since you've already developed a relationship with a surgeon and likely to pursue gastropexy, I'd inquire if they have laparoscopy available for his future pexy. I chose to do that with my girl (even though her spay was done simultaneously with an open approach), and the pexy incision was so tiny! I would 100% pursue a laparoscopic gastropexy with my next dog as well.
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oh how cute is she!
i believe the surgeon did say they can do it laparoscopically, but i’ll check on that. thank you
 
Hi Harvey! Oh, I love his name. It suits him. I'll be thinking of you guys tomorrow. Please update when you can.
All is well with Harvey :) I get to pick him up today, he has about a 10 inch incision on his belly, and we’ll have a long 4 weeks of recovery, 6 different meds on different schedules, and a diet of cottage cheese/boiled ground beef/rice to feed every 3 hours(lots of meal prepping in my future lol).
We’ll keep checking in!
 

Boxergirl

Well-Known Member
This is wonderful news! I hope recovery goes smoothly and he's not an unhelpful turd. My girl was always such a big baby, lol. Thank you for checking in.