Male neutering castration post surgery swelling

[ANJ]

My 6 year old boy was castrated one week ago.

When he came back to us some fluid was present in his 'pouches'.....

They sort of kept filling up more and looked a bit red. Our three day checkup resulted in us getting a cream to get the redness to reduce and we were asked back again two days later which was Monday this week. The vet we saw on that day was not too concerned but said we should come back if it gets'worse'.

He does look like he has one big testicle left, it is definitely not reducing in size.

I have googled and see that fluid is quite common but the first vet I saw said it should disappear within 10 days which is by this coming Saturday. There's no chance of that I'm sure.

Does anyone have experience with this issue please and have any ideas if I can do something to make it better.
He feels absolutely fine in himself btw, and his incision is healing nicely.......

Thanks 

[Archie bean]

Poor you. I'm not sure if it's the same thing but Archie had a dreadful time after his op. He had huge swellings which the vet thought was infection but it turned out to be sterile cysts full of fluid. He had drains put in which were obviously pretty messy. The whole thing lasted for almost 6 weeks. He had the cone of shame for the whole time to stop him chewing the plastic drain......and then a bigger cone of shame after some impressive yoga moves resulting in a chewed plastic drain! 
None of the vets at the practice had seen anything like it and have no idea what caused it. One theory is that he had a reaction to the internal stitches and his body reacted as though there was an infection. Since there wasn't one, antibiotics made no difference. Archie was absolutely fine in himself throughout the whole ordeal.
Hopefully your boy is just suffering some normal swelling that will go down quickly but do keep an eye on it. When I called the vet they were a bit dismissive but I insisted on taking Archie back in. Once they saw it they realised things weren't right immediately. Gentle hugs to your boy. x

[ANJ]

Thank you Archie Bean!
I do hope the swelling will subside but I'm just not seeing the signs. I wish I'd been prewarned about possible complications, vet just seem to act as though it's a walk in the park.

I do read some stories on google where the suggestion is to remove the scrotum as well on older dogs. 

I chose to opt for surgery with the hope that we can cure a problem with bleeding, I'm not normally pro nutering, so now I just feel guilty if there going to be further complications.
I know it's only one week since surgery but I still thinks it's strange than they are not reducing in size.

I'll keep Archie experience in mind in case I feel the need to go back to the vet again
 

[Mari]

My friend has a dog who got an infection post castration. He swelled up bigger than before the surgery and was very red and painful. Took a couple of weeks and a few extra vet visits before he healed normally. In his case the problem was that he didn't get a cone from the vets and was without it for the first day. She had tried to stop him licking, but it doesn't take much to provoke a reaction unfortunately. I think most cases are straightforward like that, either no complications or easily treated ones.
I believe they remove the scrotum for bigger dogs or dogs with larger testicles because there is more risk of complication with the bigger empty space left in a larger scrotal sac. Another reason for complications could simply be sensitivity. The scrotum is obviously a sensitive area so some dogs can get an inflammation from the pre-op disinfection. Don't think there's anything you can do apart from keeping the cone on and following up with the vet if necessary... except for spoiling him rotten but I expect you allready do that 
Hope the swelling calms down soon! Surgery is such a worry but sometimes the best option for our dogs in the long run

[ANJ]

Thanks Mari for your insight!
Yesterday Otis developed a bruise next to the incision site which has grown rapidly in size. I took him to the vets this morning but they don't really know what it is and think it is just bruising. I find it odd as it is now one week since the surgery, so why would new bruises appear.
They have given me some antibiotics for him.

I asked why the scrotum was so enlarged and if it was fluid but the vet claims it is just inflammation and bruising. I just don't know what to think.

Otis has not been scratching nor licking the area at all. I'm with him 24/7 and he has showed no interest at all so far.

The actual incision is healing beautifully well the vet says.

I'm just concerned how the bruised area seems to change and grow and just not recede at all.

It's so frustrating that our surgery has so many different vets and that all seem to have different views on what's normal.

Hope things will start to improve, I had hoped that by day 8 thinks would look better and not worse!

They say it's difficult with Spaniels as they are so busy and fidgety to give them enough rest but I feel I have. There's been no walks etc. I don't know if I'm able to post a picture on here, might see if it works. 
Thanks for sharing your experiences and advice
 

[PennyB]

I have seen this with dogs I've had neutered (ones I foster and my own dogs) and usually everything is fine as they often settle on their own but I usually still make sure I see a vet anyway plus it does take time for them to go down anyway and stop looking like they haven't been neutered (I often found once they have recovered that for a little while after they used to swell up during a walk but don't change colour, ie go red or anything like they do just after the op, but it was perfectly normal as they went back down once they were home and then eventually they shrink back)

[ANJ]

I have seen this with dogs I've had neutered (ones I foster and my own dogs) and usually everything is fine as they often settle on their own but I usually still make sure I see a vet anyway plus it does take time for them to go down anyway and stop looking like they haven't been neutered (I often found once they have recovered that for a little while after they used to swell up during a walk but don't change colour, ie go red or anything like they do just after the op, but it was perfectly normal as they went back down once they were home and then eventually they shrink back)

Thanks for this advice.
It's now four weeks after Otis surgery and after a course of antibiotic to be sure nothing untoward was up, his bruising has gone and he has healed well.
However, he still has a lump the size of a grape and it's stayed that same size the past week. He is fine in himself.
What might this lump be and is that still just part of a slow healing process I wonder??
X