Vetstoria

As for any surgical procedure, the first step is to obtain a sterile surgical site.

For this particular operation, it is necessary to:

• Stitch the anus to avoid any faecal contamination during the operation
• Flush both anal glands thoroughly
  

When this is done, the surgeon may cut the gland open.

This allows for a good visualisation of the anal gland. The small sac is then gently dissected out of the anal sphincter.

 

This is a tedious exercise and care should be taken to avoid inflicting to much damage to the surrounding tissues.

As the gland is excised, the surgeon closes the muscles and the skin.

 

The same operation is repeated for the second gland.

 

Following removal, both glands can be inspected. You can appreciate that one gland is darker than the other. It shows that it was inflamed and painful and we can expect that our patient will feel a lot better without it.