speying - regular or keyhole?

[Blackpuddin]

After her latest phantom pregnancy it's time to do our 3.5yr old spoodle a favour and get her speyed. She's booked in at the vets for the end of next week, but my OH has heard that keyhole surgery is less traumatic for the pooch. Is that right, and is it worth it? Thinking of the dog's quality of life post-op rather than our financial wellbeing.

[Thevet]

"regular" every time for mine.

[RB Will]

Had mine done keyhole as the apparently shorter recovery time was a big factor as my dog loves to run around she was sore for a day or 2 then we were nearly resorting to strapping her down so she didn't ruin her stitches.

The cost was not much more than the normal method either. Think we paid about £100 more than my sister did to have her dog done the normal way and I expect a bit of that was due to my dog being 4 times the size of hers.

[BlackVanDyke]

What does your vet reckon? I'd not want to ask them to use a technique they're not as confident with.

[bexVN]

Depends on the vets surgical technique.

All our vets make very small wounds, we use buried sutures and it's an ovariohysterectomy (ovaries and uterus removed) keyhole only removes the ovaries, I don't know if that is good or bad re leaving the uterus behind.

Re: recovery period,nearly all our bh spays are back to completely themselves at their 3 day post op check (it is rare that they aren't). The rest period is and should be the the same for both procedures.

I have seen hernias form in a couple of keyhole cases, so it is not risk free re: complications and there are still stitches to look after.

Recovery will be better with keyhole if comparing to a vet that maybe uses a large incision and does not have neat surgical techniques.

Nothing wrong with keyhole if you feel more comfortable with that idea and can afford the extra cost (the equipment used is expensive) but personally I've yet to be convinced that is so much better than normal surgery and still has risks as with any surgery.

Edited by bexVN on Wednesday 5th June 23:27

[Blackpuddin]

Thanks for the advice all, vet hasn't specified the method so we're assuming the regular big job. We'll clarify that before the day.

[bexVN]

Usually only referral or large practices have them. Most practices bought the equipment for specialist work, not to do bh spays but obviously it is beneficial for them to use them for more routine procedures.

The majority of practices will not have this specialist equipment (which costs many thousands of pounds!)) so they will only be able to offer the 'regular' option. If your vets has one then that's a bonus for you, otherwise you may have to have the keyhole procedure done at a different vets (and may have to travel further afield).

[Blackpuddin]

Thanks Bex, this is a small practice and they've certainly not offered us a choice of methods so assume it's non-keyhole. Reading about it elsewhere I'm thinking the conventional method might be the best anyway in terms of finding and sorting stuff that might go wrong in the future (pyometra?).

How long is the recuperation period for the regular op, do you know?
thanks

[bexVN]

10 days usually until back to normal exercise.

First couple days good rest then introduce short but regular lead walks until final check. Avoid playing games, letting race round the house/ garden during that time. Your vets should go through all this after her op

Re pyometra. My assumption would be that even with keyhole this risk should be reduced as they do remove the ovaries. They are the hormone producers and this is what can cause the condition.

This would be an issue if there is more chance of leaving a remnant of ovary tissue behind with keyhole surgery than standard surgery and I just don't know.

[Dr Murdoch]

Dam it

I mis-read the title, I thought it was a thread about voyeurs...

[Blackpuddin]

Dr Murdoch said:

Dam it

I mis-read the title, I thought it was a thread about voyeurs...

thanks, that made me chuckle - which was useful as I think the dog has just chipped one of her long lower front fangs on the walk

Thanks for the info Bex, on the walk I bumped into a spaniel owner who recommended I speak to a holistic vet in the Bath area called Nick Thompson, apparently he's very good at advising/giving second opinions on spaying.

[bexVN]

I know of Nick. He seems nice but I'm not sure what else he could offer??

[Blackpuddin]

The lady with the spaniel was asking me if my dog was definitely out of season and I may have come across a bit vague with my answer, I think she thought Nick might be able to advise on timing the op. Our vet just booked her in as soon as they saw her last time a couple of weeks ago, so I guess they know what they're doing. The vet said she (the dog!) was producing plenty of milk in her phantom pregnancy, she couldn't get any to come out without a muscle relaxant though, so left it.

[bexVN]

The general guide is halfway between 2 seasons most bhes come into season every 6 months but this is not a hard or fast rule. Ideally you don't want to spay them smack bang in the middle of a false pregnancy (which occurs a few weeks after the season) or if they are still producing lots of milk.

I'm sure Nick would be happy to help, can't hurt to call his practice and find out

[Blackpuddin]

I find the season stuff a bit hard to follow but the missus seems tuned into it, plus as I say the vet presumably is too, they've seen her often enough, hmm. Thanks again for the advice Bex, you're a treasure on this forum.

[Blackpuddin]

Quick update: Boots had her (conventional) spaying on Friday (apparently the keyhole equipment costs £25k). Neat job by the vet who pronounced herself very pleased with the scar this morning on the 3-day checkup. Came to about £240 including the t-shirt onesey thing that means she doesn't have to wear a lampshade.

[bexVN]

How was/is Boots with it all?

[Blackpuddin]

Hi Bex, thanks so much for the advice, she was very woozy with the anaesthetic on Friday but within 36 hours she was eating again and pulling hard on the lead, eyes look bright again, nose wet and fur shiny. We've got to keep her on the lead for another week. The t-shirts that button up round the bum are great and she seems happy wearing it. I'll put a pic up in a minute.

Edited by Blackpuddin on Monday 17th June 14:05

[Blackpuddin]

bit rubbish I'm afraid

[Blackpuddin]