recovery from retained testical neuter?

[Debbieg]

Benny is 2 and 4 months with one retained testicle . He is having surgery next Friday to have only his retained one removed. (I have no intention on ever breeding him and he is always either with me or in the house), but the studies I have read seem to think keeping the one testicle lessens his chance of hemangiosarcoma which my last GSD died from. I would not neuter him at all if not for the elevated risk of cancer in the retained testicle.
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I had expected this surgery to be more invasive and have a longer recovery than a normal neuter. The vet that refused to remove only the retained testicle, insisting on the full neuter or nothing said Benny would need to be kept quiet and in a e cone for 14 days.

The new vet who is on board with my decision, and said she would do the same thing if it were her dog, said this surgery is easier to recover from than regular neuter, ( especially if the retained testicle is right near the surface and shrunken. She said some are only jelly bean size.) She said often dogs do not even need an e-collar because the location of the incision and the type of stitching she uses does not seem to bother the dog .

Has anyone had this surgery on their dog? Would like to know what to expect. I am very happy that the vet wants me to stay with Benny until the anesthesia puts him under so he won't have the added anxiety of seeing me leave.

[wyominggrandma]

Alot will depend on where the retained testicle is. If its right near or in line with the penis, then it is easy to remove. If it is up by the kidney or wrapped around something else, it will be invasive and much more like a spay, meaning they will go into the belly to find the testicle. usually, if the vet is lucky, they can find the ligaments connected to the testicle and can find it that way, sometimes its a search and find operation.
We don't usually have any issues with normal neuters, the incision is small and right in front of the scrotum, about an inch in length and doesn't cause much problems or irratation. Finding a retained testicle can mean something as simple as a small incision alongside the penis or a long incision after going through the belly and searching out the testicle.
Either way, there are usually very few problems with this type of surgery. Whether he will have to wear a collar or not depends on the individual dog, some will lick and bother a small cut, others will ignore a gash and not be bothered at all.
We have done surgeries for retained testicles that seem to go so fast, as soon as the dog is under anesthesia, the testicle is easy to find because the dog has relaxed. others have taken close to an hour because it turns into a search and find mission, looking for that little jelly bean sized testicle in a belly can be tough.