Dutch Shepherd Forum

Veterinary medicine has progessed so much since I spayed my GSD way back in 1999 that I've been doing a lot of research on current options. Heck, back then, the best info was to spay around 6 months. I wish I knew then what I know now .

Anyway, I have finally settled on the option I'm going to go with for Geyser, a couple of heats from now. It will be a laparoscopic ovariectomy (say that fast 5 times...hell, say it one time ).

In removing the ovaries while leaving the uterus, you accomplish everything you typically want to do by the more common procedure, ovariohysterectomy. There is less stress/trauma, a dramatic decrease in pain, smaller incisions, less bruising, and fewer complications.

Uterine disease in dogs whose ovaries have been removed is almost nonexistent. Pyometra is caused by hormones, and no hormones, no pyometera.

Apparently, this is a common method in Europe and England. Alas, we always seem to lag behind here in the US of A. It will be wonderful if my vet has this option; I'll find out the next time we visit. I have found a vet who does this procedure in Asheville, NC, and if nothing closer is available, well, I've always wanted to visit that area, anyway .

wow that sounds really neat. I wonder if it costs significantly more? Asheville is very nice I like it a lot down there.

I've been interning at a couple of vet offices in Baltimore, and one of them does laparoscopic surgeries, including OVX. I don't know if it's more expensive, I would think it is since most clinics just don't have the laparoscopic equipment on hand. The one clinic where I interned that does offer this service is in general more expensive across the board, they just have a nicer facility, better instruments (radiology equipment, ultrasound, endoscopy equipment), more services (like acupuncture) and IMO better vets. A laparoscopic spay is supposed to be much less invasive, less painful to the animal and has a shorter healing time. I've seen a lot of spays and neuters, which are not too pleasant for the animal, even under anesthesia, but have never seen a laparoscopic spay. So hey - if nothing pans out in your area, you can always travel up to Baltimore to get your girl spayed

ETA - definitely agree with you about the US lagging behind Europe when it comes to veterinary medicine! Kind of frustrating sometimes, actually.

I am not so sure that Europe has an edge in Veterinary medicine myself.
I will let those who still live there speak, but I do not think that the method that Leih describes is commonplace.

Keep us posted on the procedure Leih. I am not familiar with it, but I have been out of the industry for quite a while. And honestly, I think my vets would have thought "There's nothing wring with what we're doing, so why work to improve in any way?"

Kristie Elliott wrote:wow that sounds really neat. I wonder if it costs significantly more? Asheville is very nice I like it a lot down there.

As Virginia suspected, the cost is greater. The figure I read (and this is just general info) is that they tend to run about $200 more than the typical spay.

@Virginia...Baltimore is a lot closer for me, so thanks for that info! I may need to contact you when the time comes to find out which vet this is (or, you could post their info here, so anyone who needs it can find it easily ).

@Judith...again, I was going by the general info I found during google searches (as far as how common this is across the pond ). I know there are many human med procedures and things that are available over there way before they're allowed here, and I guess I wouldn't be much surprised if it's the same for some vet procedures.

Christie, you bet I'll update this as I go...

Wow, $200 more! Spays are not cheap as is (coming from a poor student's perspective). Sure, the vet clinic that does laparoscopic surgeries in Baltimore is called Hunt Valley Animal Hospital. Here's their minimally invasive surgery page (and they're doing a laparoscopic spay!):

http://huntvalleyanimalhospital.com/cus ... enter.html

There are probably others in the area, but this is the only one I know for a fact does laparoscopic surgeries.

As far as the Europe vs US comparison goes, I was thinking more of their attitude towards animal welfare. In my (admittedly limited) experience, it seems like the EU has a leg up as far as their ethics towards animal well-being, and that carries over a lot to their veterinary medicine. For example in areas such as cosmetic surgeries (like feline declawing, cropping, docking) and animal testing. I know everyone has their own opinions on cosmetic surgeries - I was just citing that as an example, not to open a can of worms! The actual laparoscopic procedure may not be as wide-spread, I have no experience with that. I would guess that the US probably is more advanced as far as technology.

vneerland wrote:I am not so sure that Europe has an edge in Veterinary medicine myself.
I will let those who still live there speak, but I do not think that the method that Leih describes is commonplace.

nope not common YET! There are more and more vets doing it, but it definately is not the most common way right now :dswink" One of my (weel, bred by me...) pups will have it though, in about 6 months or so. She's the first dog I've heard of that will not be "cut open".

Virginia wrote:Wow, $200 more! Spays are not cheap as is (coming from a poor student's perspective). Sure, the vet clinic that does laparoscopic surgeries in Baltimore is called Hunt Valley Animal Hospital. Here's their minimally invasive surgery page (and they're doing a laparoscopic spay!):

Thanks a bunch for the reference!

And, yeah, I totally agree about how expensive vet care has become. That's one of many reasons why I am a one dog girl .