Skin Infection Due to Skin Fold

A dog was presented to All Pets for chronic infection and irritation around the vulva. A dog was presented to All Pets for chronic infection and irritation around the vulva. This particular dog had an excessive amount of skin around the vulva. The skin folded on itself, as shown here, causing moisture and debris to be trapped. The result was a chronic skin infection that caused great discomfort for the dog. This particular dog had an excessive amount of skin around the vulva. The skin folded on itself, as shown here, causing moisture and debris to be trapped. The result was a chronic skin infection that caused great discomfort for the dog. 

The dog was placed under general anesthesia and prepared for surgery. An incision was made around the dorsal edge of the skin fold.

A second incision was made around the ventral edge of the skin fold. A crescent piece of skin (i.e. the entire fold) was then removed.

The skin edges were sutured together in two layers - a deeper, subcutaneous layer and the superficial skin layer. This raised the vulva slightly and eliminated skin-to-skin contact. The result is shown here.

This is a picture of the vulva after the stitches were removed. The hair is growing back and the fold is gone. The skin is healing from the chronic infection. Over time this skin should return to normal. A similar condition can happen in other areas of the body like the flank and the face. Initial management is aimed at keeping the area clean and dry. In severe cases, such as this, surgical resection is often the treatment of choice.