0.5 cm reducible umbilical hernia - Page 1

Just brought a pup to vet and said it had a 0.5 cm reducible umbilical hernia.  What are you opinions on this?  I've read that they can close on their own but never had a pup with one before.  I can't even tell the pup has one.

Do you mean an umbilical hernia?  There are different types, although that's most common in pups.

If you can't even see it, then there is a good chance it may resolve on it's own.  If it doesn't, and it's that small, I wouldn't worry about it.  I've had dogs live their entire life with a small unbilical hernia, it's kind of the dog version of an "outie" belly button.  In each case my vet said if the dog ever had to go under for something else we could fix it, but he didn't think it was worth the risk of putting the dog under just for that.  And they never caused the dogs any issues. 

So if you plan to spay/neuter your dog you could have it fixed then, otherwise I wouldn't worry about it.

I agree with malndobe - I have seen some umbilical hernias in puppies and 0.5 cm seem small to me. I wouldn't touch it unless it grows bigger (usually it doesn't, but it could). My last dog had one about the same size and never had any problems with it. We didn't have it fixed and it never bothered our dog in any way. Does "reducible" imply that your vet wants to fix it? It depends on your dogs fascia and connecting tissue. If the tissue is strong enough to hold the hernia at this size, I would just leave it like that.

Usually "reducible" means that the stuff poking out through the hernia can be tucked back inside and will stay in on it's own, at least for a short period of time.   Or one that disappears on it's own depending on the position the dog is in (many will disappear when the dog rolls over on their back)

Hernia can cause death not only to the puppies but also to humans. I have heard that a fit of laughter and a hernia will cause you too much abdominal pain just like what happened to Charlie Sheen.

 Inguinal or umbilical??? VERY important distinction, Mario! You must be speaking of inguinal.

JayJay, I would do NOTHING with an umbilical hernia. You will always be able to feel it, but as long as it feels hard and lumpy and not soft and open enough that you can stick your finger into it, it's nothing to worry about. It happens- sometimes from injury (climbing out of the box very young, etc.) or when a dam bites the cord off too short, etc. I have had several dogs w/umbilical hernias of varying sizes and not one of them has ever created a problem.

I asked a longtime VERY well known breeder friend of mine (like Westminster back in the day well-known) about them and she agrees; she said 99% of the time, you do more harm than good repairing them as while they may have a lump there, the body has sealed it off and it presents no danger to the dog. 

small umbilical hernias normally do close on their own - though the fatty "blob" that is visible outside the hernia may stay there - it is only cosmetic, won't cause a problem even if the small hernia doesn't close all the way, and does not need to be repaired.  Larger ones do, depending on how large they are.  1/2 cm sounds pretty tiny to me.  Leave it alone, forget about it.

molly