ABSTRACT
The tunica vaginalis has ideal characteristics for grafting and has already been used to repair several tissues, including the pelvic diaphragm. The aim of this study was to evaluate the applicability of the tunica vaginalis as a free double-layer autogenous graft to repair the pelvic diaphragm in 14 dogs with perineal hernia, of which, nine were unilateral and five, bilateral. After orchiectomy, the tunics of both testicles were collected, overlapped and fixed to each other by four repair points. The hernial sac was approached, followed by inspection, reduction of the hernia content, muscle debridement and primary synthesis through suture. The graft was attached to the remaining musculature by simple interrupted stitches and later hidden by intradermal suture and cutaneous synthesis. Intraoperative observations and, later, clinical and sonographic evaluations over a one-year period, allow to suggest that the tunica vaginalis has ideal attributes for the pelvic diaphragm repair. It is concluded that the autogenous graft-free of tunica vaginalis in double layer is feasible and applicable in order to repair the pelvic diaphragm in the perineal hernia treatment in dogs.
Keywords:
surgery; pelvic diaphragm; graft; hernia
