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Treatment

Manual dilation of closed hymens or of a mild vaginal narrowing may be performed over a course of several treatments while using an anesthetic on the dog. It usually reduces the medical issue, although it does not resolve clinical signs. Surgery can be used to correct many minor congenital and acquired lesions. Spaying to resolve clinical signs -- typically exhibited during estrus (heat) -- can be performed in patients with no breeding value. Removal of the vagina and ovariohysterectomy can be performed in patients with no breeding value to resolve concurrent severe vaginitis (at all stages of the estrous cycle).

Living and Management

Although it is very rare, there are occasionally cases in which an animal is diagnosed with a vaginal malformation that has been passed on as a genetic trait. If several dogs in a familial line show similar clinical signs of vaginal malformations, they should all be spayed to prevent the trait from being passed on to the next litter. Some animals with vaginal malformations that are not familial may be bred by artificial insemination. They may then give birth via a planned cesarean section.