# Neutering a dog with a retained testicle



## Puptart (Jan 25, 2011)

One our dogs, Taz, has a retained testicle. He's 10 months old now and I don't think it's going to descend anytime soon. We plan on getting Kodi and Gizmo neutered in February but we are a little hesitant about getting Taz fixed. You can visibly see the outline and feel the retained testicle on his abdomen. Could you tell me exactly what the procedure for Taz would be were we to get him fixed? Are there any risks involved? Are there risks if we don't get him fixed? Would he be in more pain than the other two dogs? If someone here could put my mind at ease and tell me I'm just worrying too much it would be greatly appreciated.


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## grab (Sep 26, 2009)

If it is in his abdomen, it should be a simple snip to remove it. If it is close enough to where they make the incision for the "regular" neuter, they may even be able to slide it over out the same hole. I would certainly have him neutered..retained testicles have higher risks of cancer. It shouldn't be too much longer a recovery since it's so close to the surface.


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## mom24doggies (Mar 25, 2011)

grab said:


> If it is in his abdomen, it should be a simple snip to remove it. If it is close enough to where they make the incision for the "regular" neuter, they may even be able to slide it over out the same hole. I would certainly have him neutered..retained testicles have higher risks of cancer. It shouldn't be too much longer a recovery since it's so close to the surface.


 This. I had a poodle once with a retained testicle...the retained one was on the inside of his leg, so they ended up having to make two incisions. And yes, you definitely need to have him neutered! As grab said, he is at a higher risk of cancer. I didn't notice any more pain than normal....actually my Lhasa who was "normal" was more out of it for longer then my poodle. I wouldn't worry about it too much.


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## spotted nikes (Feb 7, 2008)

If it's close to the iningual ring, sometimes just tranquilizing the dog will make things relax enough to get it to drop, so it can be done as a regular neuter.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

My cousins (who lived with my mom at the time) had a cat who was fully cryptorchid. I guess his testicles were fairly difficult to find, because the vet had to make 3 incisions and was making cranky noises about having to "fish around in there" . No worse than a spay, I think, except for the extra incisions. But if the testicle is easily visible and close to the surface, the vet may not need to make any extra incisions.


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## Pawzk9 (Jan 3, 2011)

Willowy said:


> My cousins (who lived with my mom at the time) had a cat who was fully cryptorchid. I guess his testicles were fairly difficult to find, because the vet had to make 3 incisions and was making cranky noises about having to "fish around in there" . No worse than a spay, I think, except for the extra incisions. But if the testicle is easily visible and close to the surface, the vet may not need to make any extra incisions.


If you can see where it is, shouldn't be that difficult a neuter. Because retained testicles can become cancerous and because of body heat can secrete more than normal amounts of testosterone, it's important to have that out.


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## Lindbert (Dec 12, 2010)

Brody had a retained testicle. They had to make a second incision in his abdomen to get the retained testicle out. He had quite a bit of swelling and bruising for a couple of days on his belly, but not much pain (thanks to tramadol.) I would definitely ask for pain meds for the dog. 

You absolutely should have the retained testicle removed. He is at a much higher risk of cancer with a retained testicle. There aren't really any additional risks over a "normal" neuter.


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## synrgy501 (Sep 19, 2011)

I worked at a spay neuter clinic for a couple of years and during that time we had almost one dog a week that had a retained testicle. While some are harder to neuter than others, our vet never had any major problems and for the most part they only require one incision. Definitely get the dog neutered, it will be one of the best things you can do for his health at this point.


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