Semi-open Herniorrhaphy Reduces Postoperative Complications of Umbilical Hernia in Male Calves

Umbilical hernia is the most common birth defect in calves, especially in the male. The aim of this study was to justify the semi-open herniorrhaphy compared with other techniques for the treatment of umbilical hernia in male calves. This research included 54 clinical cases of reducible umbilical hernia (11 indigenous, 43 crossbred calves). The ages of 54 calves ranged from less than 1 month to 6 months. Sizes of the hernial ring ranged from 2-6 cm. Out of the 54 hernias, 20 were treated with open herniorrhaphy, 16 with closed herniorrhaphy, and 18 with semi-open herniorrhaphy. Among the three correction methods of umbilical hernia in calves, the semi-open herniorrhaphy was the best with a 96.65% recovery rate without any complication, followed by the closed method (93.3%) and open method (66.67%) of herniorrhaphy. The average recovery period was also the best in semi-open herniorrhaphy (10.27 days), followed by the open method (12.44 days) and the close method (21.01 days). These findings suggest that semi-open herniorrhaphy is the best method to correct umbilical hernia in calves, especially in the male.