Chronic Uterine Infection Caused by Fetal Retention and Treatment by Unilateral Ovariohysterectomy in a Dog

Abstract

A four-year-old Anatolian Shepherd bitch was brought to our clinic with an intermittent purulent-hemorrhagic vaginal discharge complaint with no general symptoms for six months following the last parturition. There were no signs of mass or lesion on the vaginal wall during physical examination. Anechogenic uterine content, hyperechoic structures freely floating in the lumen, and suspicious fetal tissue remnants were detected by ultrasonography in only the left uterine horn. Hematological parameters revealed the chronic uterine infection. The unilateral ovariohysterectomy operation was performed for the more affected left horn to maintain the patient's fertility. Two fetal bone remnants were detected in the reddish infectious uterine content at the postsurgical uterine incision. Throughout the postoperative five months, vaginal discharge or any general signs of complication were not observed. We thought that the last fetus might have undergone uterine retention and autolysis in the following weeks, which caused the chronic uterine infection. Obstetrical controls are well-advised in all parturitions to reveal any fetal remnant cases/complications and to have a normal postpartum process.