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Minimally Invasive Spay

by Chris Miller, DVM

Ovariohysterectomy, commonly known as spay, is probably the most frequently performed surgical procedure in veterinary medicine today. There are many advantages to having a pet spayed: helping to control pet overpopulation, no heat periods, prevention of mammary tumors and uterine infections, decreased desire to roam and no false pregnancies.

Even though common, ovariohysterectomy is still major surgery. Complications can occur, post-operative discomfort is expected and some time is needed before the patient recovers completely. The traditional technique for this surgery was developed over 75 years ago and has changed little until recently. Using techniques adapted from human medicine, PetSounds now offers a new alternative: minimally invasive surgery.

The goal for minimally invasive surgery is to reduce the tissue trauma and the body's response to the injury of traditional (or open) surgery. Traditional surgery requires longer incisions, stretching of incisions with retractors and the handling of internal organs. Minimally invasive surgery uses several very small openings for instruments only, thus reducing the surgical insult. The advantages are so great that minimally invasive surgery is routine in human surgery for many procedures such as gall bladder and appendix removal. Knowing that pet owners want these same advantages for every member of the family, PetSounds now offers minimally invasive ovariohysterectomy and other selected surgeries.

Less invasive means less trauma to the body, less patient discomfort, faster recovery, shorter hospital stays, fewer complications, smaller incisions, improved outcomes, happier patients and happier pet owners. Recent studies comparing the two techniques have shown significantly higher stress and pain in dogs undergoing traditional surgery for ovariohysterectomy versus those operated on with minimally invasive methods and the post-surgical complication rate for minimally invasive surgery is less than half that of traditional surgery.