Anal swelling - warning - photo is g

[Chinchilla63]

My 15 yo female chin has had this swelling around her anus for several months now. The vet first thought it might be due to infection, she cultured discharge coming from the vaginal area and treated for bacterial infection. The infection cleared but the swelling didn’t reduce.

Also, my chin is spayed. She had a huge uterine tumor 4 years ago and had a complete hysterectomy. She should not be open (as if she is in heat) and having discharge, but she is. This is a new development as well. The vet tried giving her a Lupron (a hormone suppressant) in case any endocrine tissue remained and was causing the symptoms.

Nothing has worked. Her bloodwork is normal. Ultrasound is ineffective- the area is very bony and does not show tumors, cysts, or other abnormalities well. MRI is an option but she is 15, and I want to be sure it’s the right next step before proceeding.

Have any of you seen anything like this before? I am applying Aquaphor twice a day just to help protect the area from becoming irritated (it’s been trial and error to find what works from the non-toxic options) and applying a steroid ointment when she swells even more. Regular application of steroid makes it worse,

she is on Metacam and Gabapentin for pain.

Any help is much appreciated.

 

[tunes]

My first thought would have been pyometra, but you said she's already spayed, so that's out.

Does she strain when she poops? It makes me think of hemorrhoids in a human, which can occur from straining, diarrhea, hard bowel movements, etc. Is that something that might be going on here?

 

[Chinchilla63]

Back when it started she was hunching like she was in pain. That stopped after treating for infection and putting her on pain meds.
She is pooping plenty, although poops are small. They are normal otherwise. I’ve tried propulsid to see if that made any difference but she just produced more poops of the same size and type. I suspect larger would be painful for her.
I was thinking hemorrhoids also - Can chins could get them?

 

[tunes]

I don't think it's an actual hemorrhoid, but, if the poops are smaller it could be from straining. Smaller poops mean there is some degree of constipation going on so that could be causing the swelling. I'm not a vet, it's just an opinion, but if everything else is normal, it's a possibility.