Atresia ani in buffalo calf

Pashu Sandesh, 18th January 2020

VAIBHAV BHARDWAJ*,  GAURAV KUMAR

Introduction

Atresia ani is a congenital anomaly in which there is either absence of anus or sometimes small opening was present. In a simple case of atresia ani, the rectum is fully developed and a bulging may be seen in the place of the anal opening. Sometimes, atresia ani et-recti or atresia coli is present. In atresia ani et-recti, both anus and rectum are not fully developed. In agenesis of the rectum, rectum ends blindly at any place far anteriorly. In atresia coli, a section of the colon is missing or not complete. These conditions are heritable. Along with these conditions, sometimes other anomalies are also present like the absence of tail, no demarcation of the genital organ, hypospadias, etc. In all the above cases, the first faeces or meconium is not expelled by calf and there is distension of abdomen. 

Sign and symptoms

In the case of atresia ani, failure of meconium to pass cause straining and abdominal pain. Due to severe and continuous straining, faeces gets collected near the opening site of the anus and shows bulging of that area. The calf may or may not take the colostrum of dam since the first day of calving. The calf may be reluctant to move or stand up properly. All these signs shown by the calf requires immediate action. Ignorance toward this condition could be fatal for newborn and calf may die within the next four to five days. In the case of a female calf, a recto-vaginal fistula may develop due to excessive straining, which can make the condition worse.

Surgical intervention

Treatment of atresia ani requires surgical intervention for immediate relief. After mild sedation, the calf is put in lateral recumbency. At the site of incision, 2% lignocaine is injected and a circular incision is made on skin-related to the size of the anus at the bulging site. That piece of skin is removed and then perineal muscles are incised. After that, the rectal cul-de-sac is opened to remove the faeces. Pressing of abdomen further helps in the removal of meconium. The exposed mucosa of the rectum is irrigated with normal saline and sutured with the skin using nylon with simple interrupted suture to make permanent anal orifice.

Postoperative management

• Broad-spectrum antibiotics and analgesics should be administered intramuscularly for 5-7 days.
• Antiseptic cleaning of the surgical wound and an insect repellent spray is done 3-4 times a day up to the recovery.
• Coconut oil or glycerin should be applied on anal opening to lubricate the surgical area twice daily till healing of the wound and to prevent shrinkage of opening.
• Sutures removal after 7-10 days.

VAIBHAV BHARDWAJ*,  GAURAV KUMAR 

Department  of Veterinary Surgery and Radiology, College of Veterinary Sciences, Lala Lajpat Rai University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Hisar, Haryana, India.