Open vs key hole spaying

SuziXX · 20-01-2020 4:10pm #1

Hi all,
I have a 6 month old small/medium female puppy that we are going to be spaying in the not so distant future and I was wondering if anybody in the know would mind sharing their opinions on the pros and cons between conventional spaying vs key hole (laparoscopic) spaying? Or mind pointing me in the direction of some good non bias literature re same? My current vet does not offer key hole and many places don’t seem to offer it and I’m wondering is the reason that it requires specialist training and expensive equipment or that there isn’t an advantage. If anyone with knowledge/experience could let me know if it was your pet what would you choose?
Many thanks in advance!!

itsusuallyjazz · 22-01-2020 9:50am

As far as I know there aren't many vets in Ireland offering key hole (laparoscopic) spay yet. The most experienced as far as I am aware is Paul Kelly in Ratoath.
I know quite a few of the agility community have brought their dogs to him as the key hole is a lot less invasive. The recovery is supposed to be much quicker as the wound is so much smaller and that includes the muscle repair

Personally if I get another bitch I will likely go for a laparoscopic. It is more expensive but the recovery outweighs that for me

6 months is young to be spaying a bitch, I usually hold off until at least 2 to ensure they are fully grown

tk123 · 22-01-2020 10:17am

I was all set to get key hole for Lucy...then Bailey had to get surgery in UCD and I realised how much I trusted and valued my own vet 5 mins away so went with traditional spay there instead. She was sleepy that evening and back to normal the next day so there wasn't any recovery time really. Just minding stitches for a a week or so which we have plenty of practice in anyways so all good.

mymo · 22-01-2020 10:47am

My girl had keyhole spay in October, sore for a day or so, whined when peeing and pooping the first couple of times, but was mostly her normal self once she'd got over sleepiness when I got her home. Healed great, tiny incision.
I'm down in kilkenny and the vets the next town over are amazing, also had my boys cruciate surgery done there.

tk123 · 22-01-2020 11:56am

Lucy walked home after her spay, got on the couch(:eek:) and had a nap lol.

mymo · 22-01-2020 1:05pm

tk123 wrote: »

Lucy walked home after her spay, got on the couch(:eek:) and had a nap lol.

Keep her quiet they said, she walked in the door and went into the bedroom and jumped on the bed

SuziXX · 22-01-2020 2:38pm

Thanks all, I’ve booked an appointment in gillabbey to discuss the options, they do both types so we can decide after and I’ll ask about the best age for the op too. The vet I’ve been bringing her to said 6 months before 1st heat. She’s 11kg. I’m not looking forward to it one bit!
Current vet is a franchise and I’ve nearly always seen a different person so no major relationship build with them. We initially went with the closest place because she gets car sick.

Springwell · 23-01-2020 12:43am

The only con with Lap surgery is that insufflation is painful and causes chemical peritonitis. Some animals (and people!) deal with this better than others.

tk123 · 23-01-2020 6:55am

SuziXX wrote: »

Thanks all, I’ve booked an appointment in gillabbey to discuss the options, they do both types so we can decide after and I’ll ask about the best age for the op too. The vet I’ve been bringing her to said 6 months before 1st heat. She’s 11kg. I’m not looking forward to it one bit!
Current vet is a franchise and I’ve nearly always seen a different person so no major relationship build with them. We initially went with the closest place because she gets car sick.

I assume you mean after the first heat lol! It’s really fine and straight forward enough but I know we all worry leaving them!! in

. If you go with traditional get a small T-shirt/onesie(depending on her size) to put on her to protect they wound. Lucy was very good and didn’t go near the stitches but she did scratch at her shaved tummy and left scapes - I was scolded for not having a cone on but she did that with her back leg so a cone wouldn’t have helped lol!

mymo · 23-01-2020 7:46am

SuziXX wrote: »

Thanks all, I’ve booked an appointment in gillabbey to discuss the options, they do both types so we can decide after and I’ll ask about the best age for the op too. The vet I’ve been bringing her to said 6 months before 1st heat. She’s 11kg. I’m not looking forward to it one bit!
Current vet is a franchise and I’ve nearly always seen a different person so no major relationship build with them. We initially went with the closest place because she gets car sick.

I waited until my girl was 16 months, her first heat was at 11 months, but she's a breed that are very slow to mature and my vet knew the breed and suggested waiting.
Talk to the vet.

SuziXX · 23-01-2020 8:52am

tk123 wrote: »

I assume you mean after the first heat lol!

No I don’t! The vet said before she has her 1st heat it is when I should be doing it! And I rang a few vet offices about the lap spay and they said the same thing , because it reduces the risk of certain oestrogen cancers, phantom pregnancy’s and pyometra seem to be the reasons. I’m not tied to the idea but this is the advice I’ve gotten so far?

mymo · 23-01-2020 9:05am

SuziXX wrote: »

tk123 wrote: »

I assume you mean after the first heat lol!

No I don’t! The vet said before she has her 1st heat it is when I should be doing it! And I rang a few vet offices about the lap spay and they said the same thing , because it reduces the risk of certain oestrogen cancers, phantom pregnancy’s and pyometra seem to be the reasons. I’m not tied to the idea but this is the advice I’ve gotten so far?

My vet asked if I had a secure garden, where she spent most of her time, what I'd do if she was in heat and couple other questions, then said wait.
My answers were yes, garden is secure, she's inside all the time except walks, toilet breaks in garden or if we're outside working in the garden. I wouldn't be walking her while in heat, but playing games at home.
I think many say before 1st heat because an awful lot of unwanted pregnancies happen because people are careless.
The breeder of my dog told me in 30 years of breeding she's only neutered a handful of bitches, and never had a case of pyometria, but has had a few phantom pregnancies, my own girl had one after her first heat, other than swelling in the nipples, had no other obvious symptoms and was fine after.

charlietheminxx · 24-01-2020 3:37pm

Having just had my dog go through heat, I would highly recommend getting her spayed at the time your vet advised.

I've had all my other dogs from young and they would have been spayed at around the 6-8 month mark, but we adopted our older girl intact and she went into heat 2 weeks before her scheduled spay. It's different for every dog but she's had a rough time of it, she's been restless every night for 2 weeks of it and her previously healed skin condition has flared back up. Also the constant mopping and washing of everything is a job in itself. Every walk has been a tense affair (she's not the sort of dog you could keep indoors for 3 weeks), avoiding other dogs and having a near heart attack every time we saw an off lead dog out and about. Now we are on high alert for complications because of her age and other risk factors. I can't wait until she is spayed. Save yourself and your dog the stress and get it done.

tk123 · 24-01-2020 3:47pm

My vet practice does ortho surgeries, my own vet is a pain specialist so probably one of the reasons they recommend waiting. I had little pants for Lucy which contained most of the mess and would just wash her down as needed. She wasn't in standing heat so Bailey wasn't interested in her and I walked her very very early so no probs. It was a slight inconvenience for us. Next pup will be spayed the same as Lucy - as close to 2 years old as possible to avoid joint issues. Bailey will be having cruciate surgery on tues - compared to dealing with a heat I know what I'd prefer!

charlietheminxx · 24-01-2020 4:12pm

tk123 wrote: »

My vet practice does ortho surgeries, my own vet is a pain specialist so probably one of the reasons they recommend waiting. I had little pants for Lucy which contained most of the mess and would just wash her down as needed. She wasn't in standing heat so Bailey wasn't interested in her and I walked her very very early so no probs. It was a slight inconvenience for us. Next pup will be spayed the same as Lucy - as close to 2 years old as possible to avoid joint issues. Bailey will be having cruciate surgery on tues - compared to dealing with a heat I know what I'd prefer!

Oh I didn't realise that it was a factor in spaying a female dog

I know they recommend waiting until males are fully grown, if at all, before a neuter, but I didn't know early spaying could have an impact on joint issues in female dogs.

My mam's dog had the cruciate surgery and it was rough road to recovery alright. Best of luck to your Bailey, hope it all goes straight-forward.

For anyone who hasn't tried them, those dog pants are hit and miss, we had great craic trying to get Peppa to wear them and in the end, gave it up as a bad job

tk123 · 24-01-2020 5:28pm

charlietheminxx wrote: »

For anyone who hasn't tried them, those dog pants are hit and miss, we had great craic trying to get Peppa to wear them and in the end, gave it up as a bad job

I also got nappies in Lidl and cut a hole for her tail :pac::pac::pac::pac:

Graces7 · 25-01-2020 6:36am

Impressive ingenuity!

tk123 wrote: »

I also got nappies in Lidl and cut a hole for her tail :pac::pac::pac::pac:

Dubl07 · 03-02-2020 4:52pm

I traveled to Ratoath for a laparoscopic ovary-sparing spay by Paul Kelly. It eliminated the chances of pregnancy, but left her growth-plates to close. She still gets a bit mopey twice a year but if she can nest with her teddies soon recovers.

JustAThought · 04-02-2020 12:14am

Paul is a gentleman.

SuziXX · 04-02-2020 3:35pm

Just to let anyone interested know, my little pup got spayed yesterday, she had the keyhole surgery that just removes the ovaries. She was out of it yesterday but she’s eating and drinking, wagging her tail and doesn’t seem to be in discomfort today,only problems are trying to stop her jumping on the couch! She has two tiny puncture wounds and two stitches. She hates the cone, she can’t play with her toys and she keeps bashing into things and getting a fright, thinking of trying a T-shirt with her but she’s a chewer, anyone tried a T-shirt instead of a cone?

Cherry Blossom · 04-02-2020 6:05pm

When I got my bitch done (traditional spay), I just put her ancol coat on her and it did the job perfectly.

DBB · 04-02-2020 10:46pm

They're always awkward at first with the cone on, but they do adjust.
Alternatively, you could try an inflatable collar, which are great, but you have to make sure they're fully inflated.
I wouldn't rely on a vest, if she's inclined to chew.

tk123 · 05-02-2020 10:23am

I used a tshirt for Lucy and just used the inflatable when she wasn't being supervised. The same with Bailey - he had cruciate surgery last week and has been fine - I have a little cover made for his leg and he's not bothered with it.

Open vs key hole spaying

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