Diagnosis and treatment of anal bursitis and perianal fistula in dogs

Like weasels (weasels) and skunks, dogs have a pair of anal sacs that open on both sides of the anus and emit foul-smelling secretory glands that are excreted at the same time when defecating. Around the anus is often contaminated by feces and soil, and it is easy to get sick. Anal bursitis is due to some reason leading to anal sac catheter occlusion, so that the anal sac glandular secretion stored in the capsule, stimulation of mucous membrane caused by inflammation, and then the suppurative focus spread around the anus. There are hair follicles, sweat glands, sebaceous glands and so on around the anus, these tissues will produce surface and deep suppurative lesions, forming many fistulas to discharge pus, which is called perianal fistula.

Among the diseases around the anus in dogs, the incidence of anal bursitis is the highest. The occurrence of the disease has nothing to do with age and sex, and mostly occurs in mini poodles, toy poodles, Chihuahua and other small dogs.

1. Etiology

The anal sac of the dog is located on the ventral side between the internal anal sphincter and the external anal sphincter, one on the left and one on the left. The diameter of the anal sac in neutral dogs is about 1cm. The anal sac opens at the junction of anal mucosa and skin with a long 2~4mm catheter. When the tail is lifted up, the opening protrudes from the anus and is easy to see. The wall of the anal sac is lined with glands, secreting gray or brown sebum-like secretions containing small particles. When the excretory duct of the anal sac is blocked for some reason, or the dog is seborrheic, the sebaceous gland secretion is hyperactive, so that the sac is filled with glandular secretions, and the disease can occur when it is infected by bacteria.

Anal bursitis is associated with suppurative bacteria. Dogs with chronic soft stool or diarrhea, small dogs and obese dogs are prone to this situation due to the decrease in tension of muscles such as the anal sphincter.

Second, symptoms

The disease has a variety of symptoms, most of which are caused by inflammation of the anal sac, retention of secretions and anal discomfort. The sick dog's anus shows inflammatory swelling, often seen swinging the tail, licking and trying to bite the anus, rubbing the anus on the ground or the floor with the anus, unique gait, constantly chasing the tail rotation, etc., difficult to defecate, refusing to stroke the buttocks. It smells fishy when it's close to the dog. When the inflammation is serious, the anal sac breaks, and a large number of yellow and thin secretions are released, which are mixed with pus. Anal exploration, you can see the formation of anal fistula, pain response aggravated, the emergence of perianal fistula. Dogs with perianal fistula, around the perineum with the anus as the center, can see foul-smelling purulent secretions, difficult defecation, constipation, friction of the tail on the ground, and dirty and unclean around the anus. With the deterioration of the disease, there are fever, fecal incontinence, obstruction, diarrhea, loss of appetite, weight loss and other symptoms.

III. Diagnosis

Preliminary diagnosis can be made according to clinical symptoms, and accurate diagnosis can be made by rectal exploration or colonoscopy.

IV. Treatment

1. In the early stage, the dog squeezed the opening of the anal sac with the thumb and index finger, or inserted the index finger into the anus and squeezed with the outer thumb to remove the contents of the anal sac. If it can be treated with he-ne laser, the effect will be more obvious. Then, inject anti-inflammatory ointment into the capsule and so on. 0.3% alkaline fuchsin solution is applied to the broken anal sac after debridement, or after enema and catharsis, the magenta solution is rolled with a bandage and stuffed into the rectum for 2 or 3 times.

2. Dogs with severe symptoms and systemic symptoms should be treated with systemic anti-infection.

3. When the anal sac has been ulcerated or formed a fistula, the anal sac should be surgically removed and be careful not to damage the anal sphincter and levator muscle. After repairing the fresh wound, routine suture, fasting or feeding within 4 days after operation, reduce defecation, prevent the dog from sitting and gnawing on the affected area, and take the dog for a walk twice a day.