My dog has a small hernia after liver cancer surgery. Is it serious?

This does sound concerning - occasionally an umbilical hernia is large enough that abdominal organs can slip through the hernia and become trapped outside of the body - most commonly intestines or spleen. This is pretty rare however. I would recommend checking in with your vet to see if they want to examine Maggie sooner and determine if surgery should be moved up. If she seems painful, if the area continues to get larger, or if she vomits or has a decrease in appetite you should see an emergency veterinarian.

Inguinal hernias are serious and should always be repaired as intestines can get stuck in there. If it is an umbilical hernia it may or may need to be repaired depending on the size. It is best to have her examined by your vet. They will be able to tell you more after examining her. The black spots are likely normal pigment change of the skin as the dog ages. There is nothing you can give or do to prevent them.

What you describe that your vet said is an abdominal hernia. It is a small hole in the muscles that hole the guts inside the body and allows loops of small intestine or other organs to fall through. That is quite possible. Another possibility would be a large, fatty tumor (lipoma) or other tumor. The only way to know for sure is to do diagnostics and an exam with a vet. In any case, I would recommend getting it fixed. If there are intestines in there, they are at risk of reduced blood supply, which would require emergency surgery. If it is a tumor, even a benign one, it can continue to get larger and outgrow its blood supply, again requiring extensive surgery. The wounds on the mass right now are likely caused from normal movement and Karat simply laying down on it. It is a reason I recommend having it dealt with now before things get worse.

The hernia will not go away on its own. If it is a closed hernia then it will not change in size and will not lead to any problems. If the hernia is open then things can all in and out and the size can change and there may or may not be a problem in the future. There is nothing you can do besides another surgery. If it is closed, then it is not likely necessary as it will not create a problem long term

If you dog was born with an umbilical hernia, it will often "shrink" in size as the puppy continues to grow - the hernia doesn't actually get smaller but it is smaller in relation to the rest of the body getting bigger. If there is fat or tissue that you can easily push back up into the abdomen, then there is always a risk that a loop of intestine (and yes, even a pregnant uterus!) can fall through and become entrapped. The pregnancy itself will not increase the size of the hernia, and the hernia will not get smaller after pregnancy. However, a heavily pregnant uterus can put a lot more pressure on small intestines which could be pushed out the hernia. I would recommend that you have your dog checked out by a vet before she becomes pregnant to evaluate the hernia and decide if it would be better to be fixed before she gets pregnant. If she is already pregnant, you will have to monitor is a couple times every day to make sure it isn't suddenly larger; if it does appear suddenly larger and you cannot gently push the contents back into the body, she should be evaluated by a vet immediately.

Hello. The problem with a possible hernia is if it is large enough, intestines can become trapped in the sac. The itching concerns me as, but I can not say how it may be related to a hernia. What does concern me is having a large lump of any kind in an older pet. I think this is something that should be investigated further. If your current vet does not seem to be overly concerned about this, then a second opinion at another practice would be a good idea. See what their diagnosis is & then go from there, but I do not think I would just ignore this. Thanks for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

If a hernia is repaired surgically, there is always a small chance that it will herniate again at some point of time in the life of the dog, obviously more care needs to be taken up to 10 days after the surgery to prevent from the wound and sutures to open.