# When you have to give up and opt for surgery (anal gland removal)



## Raindrops (Mar 24, 2019)

I haven't been posting about it but Misha had had an abscessed anal gland that has been unresponsive to treatment. For a couple months we tried weekly antibiotic infusions to the gland and also tried three oral antibiotics. It improved a little bit but ultimately the infection never went away. It would get better to the point that I could go a week and a half without it leaking, but then it just regressed back to leaking within 48 hours of emptying it. Couldn't cure it. The two vets working his case recommended surgery by a local specialist and yesterday he was able to get it. I was a wreck worrying about him but the surgery went fabulously. He came home today and seems to be doing very well. 

I found a surgical/incontinence suit that covers his butt and it fits so well and I'm so happy he doesn't have to wear a cone. The back of it even rolls up and tucks into a pocket so he can go out to potty without taking it off. It is a Surgi-snuggly wonder suit.

I have to figure out what I'm going to do with his hair. He looks quite ridiculous.


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## Starla (Nov 5, 2020)

Aww poor little pumpkin. Hopefully he recovers quickly, easily, and uneventfully.


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

Adorable little Misha. Blue is his color. 

I’m so happy to hear the surgery went well and hope you’ll continue to share about his recovery. Since Peggy’s never shown signs of abscess or infection, I’ve never seriously considered the surgical route. But her leaks certainly are a nuisance. 

Is some incontinence to be expected as he heals? I imagine he’s not even pooped yet, post-surgery.


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## For Want of Poodle (Feb 25, 2019)

Poor Misha! Looks like he is practically rolling his eyes at you, but that suit looks great.


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## Raindrops (Mar 24, 2019)

PeggyTheParti said:


> Adorable little Misha. Blue is his color.
> 
> I’m so happy to hear the surgery went well and hope you’ll continue to share about his recovery. Since Peggy’s never shown signs of abscess or infection, I’ve never seriously considered the surgical route. But her leaks certainly are a nuisance.
> 
> Is some incontinence to be expected as he heals? I imagine he’s not even pooped yet, post-surgery.


Thank you! He's actually pooping great. The surgery removes the glands from the side so they don't make any incision on the rectum. I guess the pain meds are working. There is a small risk of lasting incontinence from the surgery but so far so good.

The signs that it was infected were just that the secretions became a yellow-greenish-white color and smelled off. It was easy to compare to his other one that had correct secretions. It got progressively worse over a period of months before it was obviously infected. At first I thought maybe it was dietary but that didn't affect it.

I have great sympathy for Peggy's issues. It's an awful thing to go through. And seems very tricky to troubleshoot. She does seem to respond to dietary changes though which is good.


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## Raindrops (Mar 24, 2019)

For Want of Poodle said:


> Poor Misha! Looks like he is practically rolling his eyes at you, but that suit looks great.


Haha I think that's his self-pity face. Thanks!


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## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

I’m so sorry Misha had to have surgery to remove his anal gland, but clearly you had done everything you could and this was the next step. Did he have both or just the infected gland removed? I hope recovery is smooth and quick.

he does look fabulous in his blue surgical suit… that blue is his color.


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

Raindrops said:


> Thank you! He's actually pooping great. The surgery removes the glands from the side so they don't make any incision on the rectum. I guess the pain meds are working. There is a small risk of lasting incontinence from the surgery but so far so good.
> 
> The signs that it was infected were just that the secretions became a yellow-greenish-white color and smelled off. It was easy to compare to his other one that had correct secretions. It got progressively worse over a period of months before it was obviously infected. At first I thought maybe it was dietary but that didn't affect it.
> 
> I have great sympathy for Peggy's issues. It's an awful thing to go through. And seems very tricky to troubleshoot. She does seem to respond to dietary changes though which is good.


I’ve read so many contradictory descriptions of “normal” fluid. Peggy’s has always been an oily dark brown, very fishy. When she was a puppy it was a little more metallic smelling.

That’s amazing that Misha is already pooping! Sounds like he had a very skilled surgeon.


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## Liz (Oct 2, 2010)

I'm amazed at how quickly he's healing! Great job! And yes, even his self-pity face is adorable, especially in blue.


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## Raindrops (Mar 24, 2019)

PeggyTheParti said:


> I’ve read so many contradictory descriptions of “normal” fluid. Peggy’s has always been an oily dark brown, very fishy. When she was a puppy it was a little more metallic smelling.
> 
> That’s amazing that Misha is already pooping! Sounds like he had a very skilled surgeon.


I would describe his "normal" gland as being watery and brownish. Early on when he was young, his (later) infected gland always produced more fluid but had a cloudy pale yellow-brown fluid. Not really abnormal. Later it turned increasingly greenish-yellow and then greenish-white and the consistency got thicker. The smell changed too. So to me it sounds like Peggy’s is more normal. Just over producing. Though that's how his used to be so it's possible he always had issues with it that just worsened.

It was also really hard for me to tell if his was abnormal. I finally decided it was when it became thick and pus-like and smelled very wrong.


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## Raindrops (Mar 24, 2019)

Skylar said:


> I’m so sorry Misha had to have surgery to remove his anal gland, but clearly you had done everything you could and this was the next step. Did he have both or just the infected gland removed? I hope recovery is smooth and quick.
> 
> he does look fabulous in his blue surgical suit… that blue is his color.


Thank you that helps me feel better about it. It is hard to make the call to take out a natural organ.

He did have them both removed to be sure he cannot develop issues with the other one. The surgeon said that removing one has a 0% risk of incontinence but removing both has a 5% risk. But she said she had never had a case of incontinence and she would just take them both out to be safe. So that's what we decided. It would be awful to go through this again.


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## ShamrockPoodle (Jan 22, 2017)

Aww—Misha looks adorable even after the ordeal. I have not heard of that surgery—but glad to know it’s available if needed. Sounds like it will be a relief for him! What a cute recovery suit!


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## Asta's Mom (Aug 20, 2014)

So glad that surgery went well and Misha is home with the attractive blue suit.


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## 94Magna_Tom (Feb 23, 2021)

I hope Misha is feeling better! That suit seems way better than a cone. Taking notes...


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## Basil_the_Spoo (Sep 1, 2020)

Oh my goodness, that sounds like quite the ordeal. The suite looks good tho, that decision was on-point.

How mobile does he become when he wears that? Does he just become a couch potato or move around like normal?


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## Raindrops (Mar 24, 2019)

Basil_the_Spoo said:


> Oh my goodness, that sounds like quite the ordeal. The suite looks good tho, that decision was on-point.
> 
> How mobile does he become when he wears that? Does he just become a couch potato or move around like normal?


As far as I can tell he is pretty normal in it. I think he is a little subdued from meds but he moves pretty normal. It might be better if it restricted him though. He isn't supposed to be jumping.


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## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

Oh, poor baby. I’m glad he’s okay and hope for a quick recovery.


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## cowpony (Dec 30, 2009)

Ouch. Here's hoping for an uneventful recovery.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Poor Misha and poor you. It sounds as if you hads a very skilled surgeon, though - here's to a smooth, uneventful, complete recovery.


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## Rose n Poos (Sep 22, 2017)

I'm sorry to hear that you've both been struggling with this but glad to hear it's all behind you both now . 

Wishing Misha and you both a smooth and quick recovery!


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## curlflooffan (Mar 27, 2020)

oh poor Misha! ugh an abscessed anal glans sounds very painful, poor boy. 

That surgical suit sounds great though, can you tell me the name or brand? Its a good thing to be aware of as an alternative to a cone if I ever need one.


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## WinnieThePoodle (Sep 1, 2020)

Glad to hear Misha is on the mend. He does look cute in his suit. Reminds me of Winnie in her spay suit. They are such a great idea. Winnie looked so cute in hers I had to stop myself from putting it on her after recovery. Wishing all the best for Misha to make a complete recovery.


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## twyla (Apr 28, 2010)

I am glad Misha is on the road to recovery, Beatrice wore a similar surgery suit, they are wonderful. As for the hair it will grow back quickly enough, the scars will fade soon enough and you can put this episode behind you both.


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## Raindrops (Mar 24, 2019)

curlflooffan said:


> oh poor Misha! ugh an abscessed anal glans sounds very painful, poor boy.
> 
> That surgical suit sounds great though, can you tell me the name or brand? Its a good thing to be aware of as an alternative to a cone if I ever need one.


He thanks you for the condolences. This one is a surgi-snuggly and the model is The Wonder Suit. It differs because it covers the butt which most of the suits do not. It's intended to be used for dogs with incontinence but it also works great for this purpose!


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## TeamHellhound (Feb 5, 2021)

Glad to hear he's doing well. 

Lucky, my Standard Rat Terrier, had his anal glands removed when he was about three. He'd had three abscesses treated, but when he developed a fourth, my vet recommended surgery.


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## a2girl (Oct 4, 2020)

I’m sorry to hear about Misha’s struggles but it sounds as if he is recovering well—I hope it’s smooth sailing from here on out.


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## Oonapup (Oct 16, 2020)

Speedy recovery vibes to Misha.


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## PowersPup (Aug 28, 2020)

Raindrops said:


> The signs that it was infected were just that the secretions became a yellow-greenish-white color and smelled off.


So, how do you tell that anal gland secretions smell "off"? It always smells pretty bad to me - a combination of rotting fish and something else that's pretty gross.

Even though Misha may have other thoughts, I LOVE his post-surgery suit! I got two for Topper's upcoming neuter and they also roll up for potty purposes. What brand is Misha's? They're both blue because that's Topper's color too.


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

How’s Misha doing?


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## Raindrops (Mar 24, 2019)

PeggyTheParti said:


> How’s Misha doing?


Thanks for checking! He says he is totally fine and should be allowed to return to normal activities. I am still trying to minimize the jumping and only doing short walks. He is so sneaky with the jumping though and is making me feel like a bad poodle parent. He is healing up fine. He hasn't had incontinence but he does seem to have some slight anal laxity that I think will go away over the next couple weeks.


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## Raindrops (Mar 24, 2019)

PowersPup said:


> So, how do you tell that anal gland secretions smell "off"? It always smells pretty bad to me - a combination of rotting fish and something else that's pretty gross.
> 
> Even though Misha may have other thoughts, I LOVE his post-surgery suit! I got two for Topper's upcoming neuter and they also roll up for potty purposes. What brand is Misha's? They're both blue because that's Topper's color too.


Thank you! Misha's suit is a surgi-snuggly Wonder Suit model. It is super cute! Definitely better than a cone.

As far as the smell, it is hard to say. I think when infected there was less of a fishy smell. It was more of a chemical-electric type stink but that's as close as I can get to describing it. I think mainly I'd have to compare it to the uninfected smell.


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## desertpoodles (Feb 15, 2021)

Misha looks great in the blue suit. I hope he is well very soon.


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

Is Misha still doing well? 

For the first time ever, Peggy expressed her glands all over the floor while barking at UPS. Absolutely revolting. If it weren’t for that horrible reaction she had to her spay anesthesia, I’d be searching right now for a surgeon.


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## Raindrops (Mar 24, 2019)

PeggyTheParti said:


> Is Misha still doing well?
> 
> For the first time ever, Peggy expressed her glands all over the floor while barking at UPS. Absolutely revolting. If it weren’t for that horrible reaction she had to her spay anesthesia, I’d be searching right now for a surgeon.


Oh man I'm so sorry that sounds awful! Misha got the all clear from the surgeon today at his follow up visit. He seems totally back to normal now. The skin glue finally came off and he looks well healed.

Misha also had a bad reaction to anesthesia from his first surgery. For this one they kept him overnight but when I got him the next day he was totally happy and normal... just slept a bit more. But I don't know what he was like the previous night at the vet's.


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

Raindrops said:


> Oh man I'm so sorry that sounds awful! Misha got the all clear from the surgeon today at his follow up visit. He seems totally back to normal now. The skin glue finally came off and he looks well healed.
> 
> Misha also had a bad reaction to anesthesia from his first surgery. For this one they kept him overnight but when I got him the next day he was totally happy and normal... just slept a bit more. But I don't know what he was like the previous night at the vet's.


That’s really good news and super encouraging. Very impressive recovery time!

I’m still not convinced we should do it unless there’s a good health reason like you had with Misha. But good to know it’s an option.


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## 94Magna_Tom (Feb 23, 2021)

PeggyTheParti said:


> Is Misha still doing well?
> 
> For the first time ever, Peggy expressed her glands all over the floor while barking at UPS. Absolutely revolting. If it weren’t for that horrible reaction she had to her spay anesthesia, I’d be searching right now for a surgeon.


Sorry to hear this. When I first inquired with my groomer asking what they did for a "full groom", she said expressing anal glands was included. Maybe this issue can be controlled by regular maintenance (expressing them)? I have no idea how often, but why would it be included if it wasn't somewhat normal. I've specifically asked her not to express his glands. Maybe you can talk to a groomer about doing it.


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

94Magna_Tom said:


> Sorry to hear this. When I first inquired with my groomer asking what they did for a "full groom", she said expressing anal glands was included. Maybe this issue can be controlled by regular maintenance (expressing them)? I have no idea how often, but why would it be included if it wasn't somewhat normal. I've specifically asked her not to express his glands. Maybe you can talk to a groomer about doing it.


Our groomer doesn’t like to do it, as she’s not licensed to express them internally. At least where we live, that must be done by a vet. And, as she explained it, the “groomer way” is external and has a greater likelihood of doing damage.

Peggy’s glands have never shown signs of abscess or impaction, so I’m hesitant to start messing around with them. I didn’t realize my husband hadn’t been giving her a morning Glandex chew anymore, but the timing aligns with when they started getting leaky again. Hoping a return to 2 chews a day gets her butt back to baseline!

_Note to anyone reading this: Expression during a moment of extreme stress or fear is normal. There’s nothing “wrong” with your dog if this happens, so don’t be too quick to start messing around back there. _


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

@Raindrops, you’re still happy you went with surgery? Misha’s doing great?

We’re headed to the vet next week for Peggy’s annual checkup, and after an _exceptionally_ stinky week despite no dietary or poop changes, I’m reluctantly ready to open up the conversation to surgical solutions. Misha’s excellent recovery is the motivation I need.


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## Raindrops (Mar 24, 2019)

PeggyTheParti said:


> @Raindrops, you’re still happy you went with surgery? Misha’s doing great?
> 
> We’re headed to the vet next week for Peggy’s annual checkup, and after an _exceptionally_ stinky week despite no dietary or poop changes, I’m reluctantly ready to open up the conversation to surgical solutions. Misha’s excellent recovery is the motivation I need.


Absolutely! He healed up very well and there isn't even a scar. He seems to have no loss of muscle use. During the first week or two after recovery he had some laxity but it went away as he healed up.

We used a specialist surgeon and the total cost was 2400 but was covered by insurance minus deductible. I am sure it would be cheaper outside of Miami. The surgeon said she has done 500 of them and never had a dog become incontinent. There are two methods surgeons can use and the one ours used is shown to have a much lower chance of incontinence. So I think the risk is quite low.

I am always super nervous about anesthesia or surgery but I am very happy he had it done.

I am sorry to hear Peggy is having trouble again. It is such an awful problem to deal with.


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

Raindrops said:


> Absolutely! He healed up very well and there isn't even a scar. He seems to have no loss of muscle use. During the first week or two after recovery he had some laxity but it went away as he healed up.
> 
> We used a specialist surgeon and the total cost was 2400 but was covered by insurance minus deductible. I am sure it would be cheaper outside of Miami. The surgeon said she has done 500 of them and never had a dog become incontinent. There are two methods surgeons can use and the one ours used is shown to have a much lower chance of incontinence. So I think the risk is quite low.
> 
> ...


Luckily it doesn’t seem to affect her in any way, unless you count how quickly she tries to get away from it. If ever she abruptly hops off the couch, we know the smell will hit our noses momentarily. 

I’m so glad Misha did well with the healing process. What a relief for you both to have this all behind you. I’m going to start seriously researching our options in Washington.


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## Charmed (Aug 4, 2014)

Back in the 70's I interned with a very old veterinarian. He was retired Air Force and had quite an amazing bag of tricks in his repertoire. He used to do anal sac removals on a regular basis; the clients were not our regular patients so, they must have been referred to him. He would insert a red melted wax into the sleeping dog's anal sacs, and then once the wax had hardened, he would remove the sac intact. No one ever had problems. He used a very similar procedure for descenting skunks, but I distinctly remember that we had skunk glands that ruptured during surgery. Oh, was it ever stinky for long days afterwards. He also neutered some raccoons. I hated having to help hold those animals. The raccoons were not anesthetized for suture removal and they should have been. Anyhow, as far as the anal sac surgeries went, they were really routine for our vet. I do remember that most of the dogs he did surgery on were small dogs.


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