In the 200th episode of the AABP Have you Herd? podcast, AABP Executive Director Dr. Fred Gingrich is joined by Dr. Jessican Klabnik, a theriogenologist on faculty at Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine. Klabnik was one of the authors on a paper published in the Online First edition of the Bovine Practitioner. This case series paper evaluated the surgical success and reproductive performance of bulls undergoing surgery for correction of penile deviation.

Klabnik reviews penile deviation syndrome in bulls which can include spiral, ventral or sigmoid deviations due to an abnormality in the dorsal apical ligament. Surgical correction or culling are the only management considerations for these bulls; however, there is a lack of peer-reviewed data on the outcomes from surgical correction. Klabnik discusses some of the challenges with collecting data from these 25 cases with 10 cases meeting the inclusion criteria for the study. 

The surgery does not have a high risk of complications and was deemed successful in seven out of the ten bulls evaluated. Of these seven, six bulls achieved intromission and five sired progeny. Although this study represents a small number of cases, the surgery appears to have a 50:50 success rate, but due to the low risk of complications, bulls that do not successfully return to herd sire capabilities can still be culled for salvage value. 

This case series report can help to guide veterinarians performing bull breeding soundness exams when they observe a penile deviation, and also help veterinarians in private practice or referral institutions when evaluating bulls as surgical candidates.

Mossallam, A. F., Schumaker, O. J., Mulon, P.-Y., Dohlman, T. M., Meisner, M. D., Jarrin-Yepez, P., Anderson, D. E., Rush, J. B., Prado, T. M., Armstrong, C. L., & Klabnik, J. L. (2024). Case series: Surgical success and reproductive performance after correction of penile deviations in 10 bulls. The Bovine Practitioner, 58(2), 9–15