Surgical treatment of inguinal eventration in argentine terrestrial turtle (Chelonoidis chilensis) – case report

Abstract

Eventration is a separation of the musculoaponeurotic layers of the abdominal wall resulting in protrusion of abdominal contents, and characterized by the absence of the hernial sac and intact skin. We describe a case of chronic left sided eventration associated with deformity of the right femoral fossa in a 30-year-old female Argentine land tortoise. The animal was referred for evaluation of a soft and non-painful deformity of the left lumbar fossa and third degree lameness of the left posterior limb. Eventration of one bladder lobe and oviduct loops was diagnosed by ultrasonography. We describe the anesthetic protocol and the surgical technique used in the treatment with approach to the coelomic cavity through the prefemoral fossa, as well as the resolution of the abdominal wall defect.