Testicular Swelling

jcfree

Took Brutus to the emergency vet last night out of fear he was experiencing testicular torsion and would have to be neutered. Luckily, the vet said it was most likely an infection of the testicle and Rx’d him an antibiotic and anti-inflammatory. One of his testicles is slightly bigger (swollen) and is firm/hard compared to the other one. Anybody else’s dog ever experienced this? I can tell he’s uncomfortable.

BulliesofNC

That's a rarity for sure. I've had several Bull Terriers and have yet to experience this or hear of another that had the same issue. I hope the meds are the answer for curing this issue. Based on what you described, I too would have thought his issue was a testicular torsion. I assume the Vet conducted an x-ray to rule this out.

jcfree

They did not conduct an x-ray. The swelling has gone down quite a bit since I took him in. It’s still swollen a little bit. I doubt that it’s testicular torsion as he has been eating and drinking and playing a little bit. I feel that if it was a torsion he would be extremely lethargic. I go to see my primary veterinarian tomorrow to get a better idea of the possibilities. As of now he is just on clavamox and they gave him a cortisone shot. I guess we will see.

jcfree

Update: I saw my primary veterinarian and he says he has seen 4 dogs in his practice who had testicular torsion. He had said that the dogs who did have a torsion were in so much pain that they would try to jump off the exam table the minute the vet started to palpate and examine the area. He ruled out testicular torsion without conducting an X-ray, MRI, or CT scan. He claims it is most likely epididymitis or some other infection of the area. It was suggested to finish up the antibiotic and if the swelling continues he will have to be neutered.

JParanee

Go to another vet

Some dogs take pain better than others

BulliesofNC

I agree with @JParanee. Right now it sounds like your Vet is only guessing. I'm one of those who is against giving my dog medication based off assumptions vice confirming the need for a med due to sound sound analysis and testing. Your Vet only mentioned the possibility of neutering him because it's a "fail safe" method of resolving an unknown issue. If my Vet told me they wanted to surgically remove the sex organs on my dog via Neutering because they failed to properly treat my dog I'd be pissed. Thank God human doctors don't get away with the same practice or mentality otherwise many of us would have been neutered and spayed as well. If your Vet mentions the possibility for neutering him in the future if the condition gets worse it would only be because he allowed the issue to escalate due to not testing and treating the issue resulting in damage to the testicle.
I find it amazing how some Vets will persuade the owner to allow extensive testing just to get to the root of the problem in order to properly treat the issue while others are more prone to disregard testing to properly diagnosing the dog in order to pinpoint the problem. I just don't see how any Vet could prescribe a medication based off an assumption or guess.
An x-ray is a simple procedure which could have done unless his equipment is cheap and inaccurate in the readings needed for this type of diagnosis. Many Vets use cheap test equipment which can only do the basics.
Now a days there are people who will ask for x-rays and ultrasounds on their pregnant dog just to ensure the health and welfare of the pups and dam are doing well. It's a precautionary method of being proactive within the welfare of the dog. You'd think when a dog shows signs of a medical issue the need for an x-ray or proper testing would be far greater than someone else wanting an x-ray just to see how many puppies are in the stomach of their pregnant dog. Trust me there's Vets out there who have the capability to tell you exactly what the issue is with your Bull Terrier and will initiate proper treatment for it.

JParanee

I’m just surprised at how many vets encourage people to fix their dogs with unfounded old wives tales

I get comments all the time on my male like ..... when are those coming off ... ya don’t see balls much these days, Etc

When my male showed a bit of stud tale the female vet in my vets office quickly said fixing him would lesson this

Maybe it’s true but his stud tale cleared up and he still is intact and going to stay that way

BulliesofNC

I had to chuckle a little when you mentioned your Vet saying neutering him would fix the problem with stud tail. Why they call it "Stud Tail" is a mystery because this issue occurs with female Bull Terriers too. A blockage or infected sebaceous gland can affect either a male or female dog and it has nothing to do with their sexual organs. However, it does seem to affect more males (especially 6-20 month old ages). The scent gland could be more active on some dogs and become problematic during puberty stages. There's a ton of different opinions on stud tail and I've even heard some people say "all BT's get this and it goes away in due time." Another false statement but we all have our opinions. The last rescue we had here had stud tail too and he was neutered at 5 months old prior to even having stud tail.

JParanee

Yes I just did some quick research and washed the spot periodically and it’s a no issue now

Vets are full of both bad and good info and just like getting a second opinion from your doctor you should do the same with your vet

jcfree

I appreciate everyone's comments. I too did not want to neuter Brutus, I have had plenty of people comment on him being neutered and had plenty of people suggest it. I knew I would never do it unless I had to. Today he was neutered. After quite a few vet visits to 3 different vets the decision was made to neuter Brutus. The testicle in question had reduced in swelling but had a very firm feel to it. A cytology was done most recently and it was found that the testicle in question was filled with blood, had very few neutrophils, and no sperm under the microscope. The vet recommended neutering him, because otherwise I would have spent a very large amount of money trying to figure out the problem. The vet found that the testicle in question was necrotic and dead. The vet also found discolored markings on his epididymis (if you do not know what that is I would suggest googling it), and it was suggested to send off a cell culture of the discolored areas to a lab. The vet believes that this was caused by an infection (despite strong antibiotics and anti-inflammatory) that ultimately led to morphological changes and irreparable damage. I will soon know exactly what caused this and will also be informed if their is a need for further treatment. I am honestly saddened that it came to this, but I honestly believe that there is nothing else that could have been done without spending money that quite frankly I don't have. I understand that people in this forum have a very unwavering opinion on "fixing" their dogs. I feel the same way and did not want to do this, but for the health of the dog this was something that needed to be done. I also would like to add that I believe that BulliesofNC and JParanee were accurate in their statements that some dogs handle pain better than others. The dog had a "dead" testicle which had to have been quite painful before it actually was considered "dead." He's a tough dog, apparently the surgery went just fine. In the meantime I will pick him up from the vet tomorrow and soon I will have a better idea of what could have caused this. I would like to share the pictures I was sent by my veterinarian. I do not think there are any rules against sharing these pictures in this forum, please correct me if I am wrong and I will remove the post. DISCLAIMER: These pictures are of Brutus' two testicles, one normal and one abnormal, and are not pretty.

JParanee

I hope he recovers well and I believe you did the right thing

Thank you for getting back to us

BulliesofNC

Any time the health and well being of dog warrants neutering or spaying I would certainly welcome the surgery. Based on the photos you provided I'm confident you made the right choice. However, I'm not medical expert so I wouldn't be able to tell if there was a medication available to cure an infection and alleviate the problem.

If you research other photo's online that relate to issues dealing with testicles on a canine the ones that show similarity to Brutus are those that had testicular torsion. Here's an article that provides one example of a similar case: http://drtony.com/case-18.html

Please keep us posted with the results of the test which might shed some light as to the cause of this issue and the actual diagnosis of what this issue is.

jcfree

I’ve come to a theory of my own that it was in fact a testicular torsion and it cut off blood supply. I also think he somehow untwisted this torsion and that was why he started to experience some relief (because he never really seemed in pain). At any rate if that was the issue, obviously blood supply was cut off long enough to result in necrotic tissue. Just sucks that more diagnosing wasn’t done to determine what it was early enough before it was too late. Again, this is a lot of speculation, I’ll update as I get more info.

BulliesofNC

I believe your theory is 100% correct. A testicular torsion will surely be painful upon initial injury. However, after the testicle remains without blood for a certain amount of time it will simply go numb due to the absence of blood flow. The darkened dry blood seen in your photo provides the notion that blood was not flowing correctly. The enlarged testicle also suggests lack of blood flow as well as the similarities that of torsion. I'm sure your Vet is eager about running as many expensive tests as they can while scratching their and saying tests are warranted to conclude the cause but I have a funny feeling they already know what the cause was.

jcfree

I will say this vet that I went to I did work a number of years for. The vet did seem puzzled, but I think only because the dog seemed so calm and free of pain. I think the vet is just not familiar with how tough and crazy these dogs are and is therefore ordering a biopsy and other tests.

jcfree

I actually just got a call about the biopsy. Obviously they found that orchitis was present (duh). Other than that they did not find anything cancerous or anything suggesting the need for further treatment. The lab believed that the necrotic tissue was due to either a torsion or some kind of serious trauma. Those were their only two theories in regards to the testicle. I have no idea how this could have happened, no specific instance comes to mind where the dog may have hurt himself.

jcfree

All figured out now. Thanks for everyone's comments and thoughts and prayers!

BulliesofNC

It's good hearing it wasn't anything serious or something that would have had further complications.
Post a couple recent photos of Brutus. I'd love to see him.

JParanee

I had a fantastic male Dogo that didn’t have a testicle drop

I had the testicle removedand lefthim with one

jcfree

@JParanee the only reason I had them remove both was because the vet had said that if it was something that needed further treatment they would have to go back and do another surgery. Didn't want to find out it was something worse and then regret not having them remove both. Brutus doesn't seem to mind either way hahah

JParanee

I understand and he is a beautiful dog anxious to see more of him

jcfree

Will post updated pictures of Brutus in the next week or two. He is 1 year and 8 months old now!