Stewie, a Shih Tzu, came in for an emergency appointment because his owners feared his privates, more specifically his testicles, were turning inside-out.  He had been fine just when they let him out in their yard 45 minutes prior to his visit to Southpointe.  When they let him in, they observed a large, bulbous swelling at his genital area.  Stewie was very reluctant to sit and actively guarding his rear end.  A brief initial assessment revealed that Stewie’s testicles were exactly in the right place but that he did have an abnormality of his genitals – paraphimosis. 

Male dogs have skin that covers and protects the penis called the prepuce.  The opening in the prepuce is sufficient to allow for elimination and mating.  Paraphimosis occurs when the skin of the prepuce gets caught or constricts around the penis.  It happens most frequently in small, unneutered dogs that have been excited or aroused.  During excitement, the muscles in the penis get increased blood flow causing it to swell.  At the base is a group of muscles called the bulbous glandus. This muscle group can have the appearance of testicles when engorged.  This is area that the skin gets trapped around.  Once the skin is caught, it cuts off the blood supply to the penis.  If it is trapped for a long period of time, the tissue is damaged and becomes necrotic.  Paraphimosis does occur in neutered dogs, typically those neutered later in life or those that have behavior problems.

Luckily for Stewie, his owners observed his problem early on and other than being uncomfortable, his tissues looked healthy.   After explaining Stewie’s condition, his owners recall that he had been spending a lot of time along their fence line trying to get to the dog next door, a female.  Short term treatment for Stewie involved reducing the swelling and getting the skin to cover the penis.    Stewie was given pain medication and sedated heavily to allow us to apply a sugar paste to reduce the swelling.  Once the swelling was reduced, the skin could be put back in its normal position.  A sedative was also sent home to help keep Stewie quiet while his tissues returned to normal.  Ultimately, neutering drastically reduces the incidence of paraphimosis.  One week after his emergency visit, Stewie came in healthy and feeling great for neutering. 

Paraphimosis is a relatively common problem observed in small, un-neutered male dogs.  It is a painful condition and if left untreated can result in severe tissue damage.  Neutering prevents this condition in most dogs.  All dogs not used for breeding should be neutered to help prevent this and other medical conditions.  If you have any questions regarding this condition or the health of your pet, please contact us.