An edited transcript of the video is provided below:
Today I want to talk to you about spaying. And the difference between what we should be doing, and what a lot of vets are actually doing, which is an ovariohysterectomy verses an ovariectomy. We will discuss why it matters, what’s the benefit of doing one verses the other, and what’s the downside of doing one verses the other. I get a lot of questions about this, every day since we do our laparoscopic spay, and we only perform an ovariectomy. There’s a lot of misconceptions still persisting out there about what the risks are and what the benefits are.
Let’s all get back on the same page. When we spay a dog, you can do one of two procedures. The traditional way of spaying a dog is you remove the ovaries and the uterus. And that’s called an ovariohysterectomy. And it’s what we’ve been doing here in the United States for all time and eternity, but nobody really stopped to ask why we’re doing it this way. Once we did, we figured out, oh yeah, there’s no point in removing the uterus. There’s really no benefit to it. And this is the way that they’ve been doing it in Europe for the past 20+ years, by only removing the ovaries, and they found no increase risk of problem or issues by leaving that uterus behind.
What are the risks and what are the justifications for removing the uterus? Well a lot of people talk and worry about uterine cancer. Uterine cancer in dogs is 0.03% of all cancers. It’s really low. Of those, only 10% are malignant. So your chance of having a malignant uterine tumor is 0.003%, that’s basically nothing. And, if you remove the ovaries from a young age, a lot of those tumors are hormonally driven. So if the uterus isn’t getting those hormones over the course of their life, the chance of them having a uterine cancer, a uterine tumor develop, is basically nothing. And so that risk really isn’t a concern for me. Other people are worried about if you leave the uterus behind that there’s still the risk that they’ll get something called a pyometra, or an infection in their uterus. The thing is, you can’t get a pyometra unless there’s hormones to drive that infection. So that can happen, even in a traditional spay, if you do an ovariohysterectomy, and you leave just a little piece of the ovary behind, you can still get a pyometra. It’s called a stump pyometra. But if you’ve completely removed all of the ovarian tissue, that’s not going to happen unless you’re actively rubbing progesterone onto the dog. So if you’re a woman who’s doing progesterone replacement therapy on your skin, that would be a potential issue. But that would happen with both a traditional spay, which is an ovariohysterectomy, and a ovariectomy. So again, that one’s not a risk either.
What is the benefit of removing the uterus? Well, really there really isn’t. There is a downside though. There are risks and complications associated with actually removing the uterus, because when you do a spay, you’re really trying to make this tiny incision, and to get that uterus out of there, you’re really kind of pulling and yanking and stretching that uterus, and doing a lot of tissue trauma. And so there’s the risk that one of the blood vessels will not get tied off appropriately and they’ll bleed. You’re pulling and potentially stretching the other organs, and it’s just all the extra trauma that goes along with that spay, it’s a lot more painful, and a lot longer recovery time. So there really isn’t a benefit of removing the uterus.
The next question is why vets haven’t made the change? I think it’s just they’re not comfortable and we’re trying to get that information out there, and really advertising and talking about why we just do an ovariectomy. You don’t need fancy laparoscopic equipment to do an ovariectomy. Your vets, any vet out there, can start doing an ovariectomy now, when they do their traditional spays. It’s actually easier because you don’t need to make as big of an incision, and you’re not trying to pull and stretch anything. So, vets can do ovariectomies without fancy equipment like we have. It’s just something that we need to continue to get this information out there, and let them know that it’s okay to do this.
So, I hope that clarifies why you would want to do an ovariectomy and the benefits of it, and if you have questions about that, please come in, and we’d love to talk to you about doing ovariectomy on your dog, and we do it laparoscopically, which has been shown to reduce pain in animals by so much. And there’s more information on our website about laparoscopic spays, I encourage you to look at. So schedule an exam if you have a question, and otherwise, thank you for watching,
Is there a video that we can watch the laparoscopic ovary removal and how it’s done?
Yes! We have a video on our LOVE spay page (https://sdcoastalanimal.com/services/laparoscopic-spays/) which explains the procedure. You can also find the video here: https://vimeo.com/353910611
What about an ovary sparing spay where only the uterus is removed?
That is an option that is also out there. We don’t tend to recommend it because the benefits don’t seem to outweigh the downsides. These pets will still have hormonal cycles and attract males which can be a problem in dog social situations. Also, they are at risk of developing mammary (breast) cancer that may require surgery in the future. While there are some benefits, it is our take that the downsides do outweigh the positives.
Hi Dr. Evans-Do you know of any Seattle, WA vets who perform only ovariectomy with he lap
Unfortunately I do not. Here is a website where you can locate vets in your area who do perform lap spays: https://www.lapspay.com/
I thank you for your informative article. Unfortunately, I live in Denver in Denver, Colorado and not able to come out for you to do the ovariectomy! Do you someone in Denver who does this procedure well? Thank you.
Here is a resource for you: https://www.lapspay.com/en/find-a-vet.htm
Are there situations where the ovaries are only removed and after the ovariectomy, there is milky substance emitting from swollen Female breasts.
Yes, this can happen with something called a “false pregnancy”. She will likely act just like she is pregnant and this can last for a week or two then should all return back to normal. If all ovarian tissue was removed, there isn’t a risk of this happening again in the future.
Hello, I am having severe remorse. We followed our vets advice who is close to retirement to spay our puppy at 6.0 months. We just had our large breed puppy spayed 7 months 3 weeks of age. I had not done my research and now seeing the huge value of waiting a year for bone and joint development due to the beneficial hormones. Would you recommend hormone therapy till she’s fully developed? She is 68 lbs and may get to 90. She is a low content wolf hybrid with husky, malamute and white Shepard. I feel very bad for her, and negligent making a uniformed decision. Also, she is in Blue buffalo large breed puppy food. Thank you
I don’t think you need to beat yourself up over this. While we do like pets to grow, there isn’t a hard and fast rule that says dogs spayed before XX months will have problems. She will likely be fine and never have any issues. I see more problems in dogs that are spayed before 4 months of age. By nearly 8 months, I would imagine most of the overall bone structure is there, but since I have not seen her, I cannot advise you on the real risk.
What about hormone balance ? I believe she would need her varies otherwise she could suffer behavior issues and discomfort. You really think that’s the best approach?
I do believe this is the best option. There are downsides to leaving the ovaries. Please see our blog which discusses the reasons why we don’t recommend ovary sparing spays: https://sdcoastalanimal.com/spayoptions/
We are in England and our JR aged 2.5 years of age has a planned pregnancy and gave birth to one large male puppy by caesarian. We are keeping him. Now reading about different types of spaying here. We have 2 vets that will do the procedure you recommend. My question is when would the best time to have this procedure as l guess she could be coming into season soon and we need to be vigilant because of her son who l guess will soon be capable of producing sperm. Plus could she have keyhole surgery now after a cesarian? Thank you.
In general we recommend spaying dogs after the hormones have once again gone quiet. That is typically about 2-3 months after a heat cycle or a month or two after they stop nursing. And yes, dogs can have laparoscopic surgery after cesarian. There is increased risk of adhesions from the cesarian that may make it more difficult, but it is still possible and preferable.
Hello Doctor, my havanese female, will be 2 yo in mid dec, got knocked up in kennel by a castrated white mini pomeranian, on 26 july.
She started labor signs yestarday morning, and by early afternoon had first dark green discharge. I took her to vet streight away. They did cbc and ultrasound but werent able to produce any usefull info about the litter, except that its 5w6d old. And there were heartbeats. I think i saw 3. But its hard to be sure.
I was told to wait 24 hours and bring her in for cesarean and uterus removal surgery.
I didnt go back to that clinic. Spoke to another recomended vet, he said lets wait for 48 hours, hopfully it will selfresoulves. Buf still insisting that i remove uterus. Its safer for the dog, he say.
The dog wasn’t eating for 3 days or drinking much and became more lethargic not leaving her pad at all.
I got worried. Afternoon i gave her some new tasty wet food and she eat well of my hand. Then i brought her water and she drank well.
Before she was refusing water.
So, i got worried, that more then 24h has passed since nesting and then green staff at 2pm, but no puppues, i went to another vet, to check. I was worried that she might have some infection (eventhough cbc wbc are fine ), and she might have some internal problems and just might die.
While driving to clinic, the dog started moving, and when we arrived to the clinic, she delivered 1 puppy, stillborn. Eat placenta faster than i could blink.
This vet now done xray and another ultrasound, confirmed there is 1 more puppy, and no hearbeat.
We weaited for over an hour, 2nd puppy didn’t come. Doctor said to go home, she should deliver within 6h… if she doesnt, bring her in for cesarian and uterus removal surgery. If she does, bring her in for uterus removal.
All are fearmongering me that if i don’t remove the uterus now, straightaway, she might have uterous investion, that strangely can not be treated by antibiotics, or lever infection, or kidney failure, or some other terrible infection or problem and die.
And, now that she had a miscarriage, she almost certainly has no chance to have a healthy pregnancy in the future…
Besides the expences of the surgery, my conserns are first any surgery is a potential risk. Second – removing a very importnt organ that certanly has its jobs and duties, and third i was hopping to have puppies in the future eventually, after she fully matured and i found nice fluffi havanise boy for her to mate with.
Now, im sitting and waiting for the second one to come out. Nothing so far… 3 hours later.
The clininc booked her for uterus removal in the morning.
My questions to you are:
– is it a great risk for deadly uncurable infections if not do any surgeries now?
Is there a great risk of her never having a normal pregnancy in the future?
Is it not bad to do such opetation while her hormones are in pregnancy/delivery state… ?
Thank you.
I am sorry to hear that your pup is going through so much. It is hard to advise without seeing your pet to know the full extent of her condition. I can say that some pets can recover from having stillbirths and go on to have normal litters in the future, though this is not a good sign. I hope she recovers well and if you need a second opinion, please call our front desk to schedule an exam and consultation.