Surgical treatment of a unilateral scrotal hernia in a ram - a case report

An 8-year-old German Merino (Merinolandschaf) ram suffered from abnormal fluid-filled scrotal swelling was presented at the Clinic of Surgery, Orthopaedics and Ophthalmology at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Zagreb. The ram had been used for breeding and group-housed with other sheep. The first signs of scrotal swelling had been noticed several months earlier. The swelling had been enlarging gradually., and then stopped about one month prior to referral at the Clinic. Physical examination revealed an abnormally enlarged, asymmetric and moderately painful scrotum. It was the size and shape of a rugby ball, with the left side approximately several times as large as the right. The hernial content included loops of small intestine and atrophied testicle, surrounded by large amount of fluid. Surgical procedure comprising herniotomy, herniorrhaphy and unilateral orchiectomy of the left side of the scrotum was performed under general anaesthesia. A firm mass the size of a palm, filled with blood clots, was found inside the spermatic cord. The left testicle and pathological mass were surgically removed, while the right testicle was preserved at the owner's request. The wound healed without complications and the rain was returned successfully to reproduction.