EMERGENCY REPAIR OF A RUPTURED UMBILICAL HERNIA IN A 6-WEEK-OLD PIGLET: CASE REPORT AND OUTCOME

Abstract

A six-week-old Nigerian local breed piglet was presented to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital of the University of Jos, with an avulsed umbilical hernia exposing the intestines to the external environment. After evaluation of the patient, the condition was found to require surgical management. The piglet was sedated with xylazine administered at 0.15ml/kg, intramuscularly.  The skin at the operation site was cleaned with antiseptic solution (Dettol®), shaved and draped. The skin was infiltrated locally with lignocaine plus adrenalin and the exposed intestine cleaned with normal saline and returned back to the abdominal cavity. The abdominal muscles were subsequently sutured with Chromic Catgut in a continuous non-interrupted pattern. The subcutaneous tissue was sutured with chromic catgut using a subcuticular suture pattern; the skin was sutured with nylon using the horizontal matrix pattern. The post-surgical care included the administration of penicillin-streptomycin at 1.0 ml per 10kg intramuscularly for five days. The piglet was gruel fed during this period and the skin stitches removed 12 days later with the piglet making a full recovery.