Prolapse cow

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That's some old-school stuff there. They taught us about that procedure when I was in vet school... 40 years ago... but they didn't demonstrate it, and I never saw or heard of anyone who actually did it.
Essentially, it's a plastic 'nail', with a button that fits over the 'head', then you shove it from inside-out, through vaginal wall, pelvic musulature, skin, and slip another button over the pointy end, slide a cotter pin into holes pre-drilled in the shaft, to hold it in place. Rinse & repeat on the other side.
https://www.outbackvetsupply.com/product.jhtm?id=713&cid=183

Working on mostly Beefmasters & Gerts when I was in practice...30 years ago... I saw plenty of vaginal/cervical prolapses. Just did an epidural, cleaned 'em up, shoved 'em back in, and did a Buhner stitch - and recommended pounding them out... but, since so many were 'valuable registered' cows... not enough of them went to town. Most calved relatively uneventfully, even if the owners didn't follow my instructions to keep them up and cut out the stitch when calving was eminent. Guess the cotton umbilical tape we used had rotted enough by the time that most got around to calving that it just broke (or tore through... IDK).
We considered just stitching her up and cutting the stitches when she started to calf. But these old half wild desert cows that is a lot easier said than done. Next weekend we have to get her back in to pull the pins. I think we will go ahead and sew her up then for insurance. She has also dropped some weight through this process so I will keep her in and give her a little extra for a couple weeks.
 
Ferd, here's a pic of a vaginal prolapse
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipe...0px-Forboutaedje_vexheye_kimince_vudaedje.jpg
The 'pucker' visible just above dead center is the external os of the cervix.

The very last vaginal prolapse I worked on before I left practice and went back to grad school was one in (or, I should say, 'out of') a big old Beefmaster cow. It was - truthfully - as big as a 5-gallon bucket. It had been 'all the way out' for quite some time... took quite a bit of cleaning and coating/massaging with a couple of 4 lb bags of sugar to shrink it up enough to get it all the way back in so that I could put in my Buhner stitch.
I was wearing bib overalls. My wallet, in the front bib pocket, was thoroughly soaked with bloody vaginal sugar solution...30+ years later, there's still a smell in my wallet... and I'm probably 3 or 4 wallets down the road from that one, but bills, cards, photos, etc. that have made the move from one to another along the way, have carried along with them the mold/mildew spores that grew in that 'enriched culture medium'.
 
Can anyone tell me what this is? When I first saw it it looked like a foot sticking out. Closer inspection it looks like growths that are coming through the vaginal wall. Since this photo her vagina is often prolapsed maybe 6" out, sometimes it goes back in. I guess I'm playing a game of chicken hoping to get a calf out before it gets worse. Probably give her a Buhner or modified Buhner post calving if things work out.

583A9373-181B-4055-9FEF-AD1983FB1457.jpeg
 
I don't know what they are, but I've seen them before. Banding works well. I've also just cut a couple off and they didn't bleed much at all. I'm not sure if that's typical or if I'm just lucky.
 
Probably a vaginal leiomyoma (benign tumor of smooth muscle origin) - or even a mass of retrovaginal adipose tissue that protruded through a vaginal tear that mostly healed up, leaving that mass ' hanging out'.
Agree that an elastrator band would take care of it - or you might be able to just snip it off and be done with it - but I'd wanna crush the stalk with some sort of forceps, or a small-size Burdizzo-type emasculator, in case there was a sizeable blood vessel in there.
 
a mass of retrovaginal adipose tissue that protruded through a vaginal tear that mostly healed up
I lean towards this. According to my records I had to help her last year and it wasn't easy. Could well have been a tear at that time.
I should also note that there was quite a stench to them whe first exposed to the outside world.
 
We pulled the pins on the prolapse cow today. She is still prolapsing a little so we stitched her shut. She had a growth somewhat similar to what Silver showed. More cone shaped and didn't taper at all toward the base. Could be why she continues to prolapse. I kept her in the corral so I could feed her a little extra.
 
Never give any prolapse a 2nd chance, or their offspring.

A cow talked to me once - plain English. She uterine prolapsed 1st calf, gave her 2nd chance. Calved 2nd time and prolapsed again, hemorrhaged and died. In her final breaths, she called me a 'sentimental dumb MF'er'.

There are far more cows in the world that never prolapse, than those that do. Question is who do you want to be happy to see you, your banker or your vet?
 
A cow talked to me once - plain English. She uterine prolapsed 1st calf, gave her 2nd chance. Calved 2nd time and prolapsed again, hemorrhaged and died. In her final breaths, she called me a 'sentimental dumb MF'er'.
Those hard lessons are the most memorable ones, it would be nice for us to learn from an easier method, but the easy method just doesn't have the same impact and we soon forget.
 
The one I had, didn't even bother preg checking; she earned herself a ride to the sale barn. She might have been bred, but was sold as a weigh up.
 
Vaginal prolapse needs a dose of Trailermycin or New Home Liniment.
Uterine prolapse... if they breed back... and most do... are no more likely to recur than for any other cow in the herd to have one. If they repeat... it was just bad luck.
 
We put the prolapse cow back together for the fourth time on Tuesday. This last one was a prolapsed bladder. I had never heard of that happening. The vet suggested a trailer ride to the sale. The only problem was the withdrawal time on the big blast of LA300 she had received. So she has to stay here for 2 weeks. If she manages to stay together for 2 weeks we might as well gamble on her and turn her out to pasture with the other cows.
 
We put the prolapse cow back together for the fourth time on Tuesday. This last one was a prolapsed bladder. I had never heard of that happening. The vet suggested a trailer ride to the sale. The only problem was the withdrawal time on the big blast of LA300 she had received. So she has to stay here for 2 weeks. If she manages to stay together for 2 weeks we might as well gamble on her and turn her out to pasture with the other cows.
I experience the prolapsed vagina + bladder deal for the first time a few days ago. I have to admit that I failed the repair procedure.
 
I experience the prolapsed vagina + bladder deal for the first time a few days ago. I have to admit that I failed the repair procedure.
The vet did this one. It was above the pay grade for either B or me. I am certain that we have both failed the prolapse repair procedure in the past. In about 2 weeks these cows will go up to the hills. This cow is going to have to go with them and continue to raise this big calf just to pay the feed and vet bills against her.
 
The vet did this one. It was above the pay grade for either B or me. I am certain that we have both failed the prolapse repair procedure in the past. In about 2 weeks these cows will go up to the hills. This cow is going to have to go with them and continue to raise this big calf just to pay the feed and vet bills against her.
Further reading on the subject has told me that to be successful the bladder must be drained. What I can't glean from the web is if the empty bladder just goes back whence it came once everything else is in its proper place or if it requires more manipulation. I do have pictures if anyone is interested, kinda graphic tho.
 
Further reading on the subject has told me that to be successful the bladder must be drained.
That's news to me. I've gotten them back in without draining, but maybe I'm lucky. I've never worried about positioning the bladder; just getting it back inside seems to do the trick. Getting out of the way quickly after you push it back in is necessary if you're not wanting a shower.
 

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