Drago
Pet of the Month - June 2025
Drago is a 2-year-old 175-pound Great Dane who belongs to a wonderful family of very responsible Great Dane breeders. He came in on a Wednesday afternoon for a swollen, red, inflamed scrotum that had just started that morning. He was eating and drinking and didn’t seem bothered by the swelling, despite the dramatic appearance. When he walked into AHS, his poor scrotum was the size of a grapefruit, swollen and edematous (abnormally swollen with fluid). Both of his testicles palpated, or felt normal, but the scrotal skin was very thickened and inflamed.
We screened him for Brucellosis, an infectious agent that can cause reproductive issues, infertility, and late-term abortion in dogs. Fortunately, he was negative, since this bacterium can also be spread to people and cause similar signs in humans. A scrotal ultrasound showed normal testicles with very angry scrotal skin and cellulitis (a bacterial skin infection affecting the deeper layers of the skin and underlying tissue, often causing localized redness, swelling warmth and pain). We started treating Drago for cellulitis with anti-inflammatories and antibiotics.
The next day, his mom brought him back for worsening scrotal inflammation. His scrotum was much larger, with pitting edema (swelling where a pit or indentation forms when pressure is applied and then remains for a time after the pressure is released). We repeated the ultrasound and found our answer. Within 2.5 cm of thickened fluid-filled scrotal wall (normal is a few millimeters), we found a scrotal abscess. An abscess is a pocket of bacteria and pus that forms under the skin.
We think this poor guy sat on something (e.g. mulch, blade of grass, etc.) that introduced bacteria into the scrotum that led to the abscess. Ouch! We sampled the abscess material to evaluate under the microscope and to send for culture. We also applied a topical solution to help decrease the edema. Drago needed strict rest and scrotal support for the next 2 weeks. The more inflamed the scrotum became, the more gravity caused stretch and strain on the tissue. His family put him in a surgery suit to provide support as he worked through this issue.
Two weeks later, Drago came back for a recheck. His exam and ultrasound were back to normal, and his abscess had resolved without the need for more aggressive surgical procedures. We expect him to have a full return to function. Because the spermatic life cycle is approximately 60 days, we expect a temporary dip in sperm quality two months from the time of diagnosis with a return to baseline 2-3 months after that.
Drago is an absolute sweetheart, and we are happy we could find answers and treat appropriately for his comfort, health and genetic preservation.