Ovary sparing spay

RE: Ovary sparing spay

Mark Holmes — Tue, 27 Aug 2019 13:22:43 GMT

To be honest I have considered the repercussions of this before now. Some ovarian remnant dogs have been doing very well and some breeds - well neutering ruins their coat completely... Spaniels and Setters.

I routinely don't neuter my dogs so I guess I'm more inclined towards the leave it alone camp. I had wondered if this were a form of compromise.

RE: Ovary sparing spay

Jill Butterworth — Tue, 30 Jul 2019 10:23:09 GMT

[quote user="Beats"]

[quote user="Jill Butterworth"]Looking to future management, it's easier to diagnose a pyometra than a stump pyo, and then you might be able to offer medical management with prostaglandins if she was still wanting to keep the ovaries.[/quote]

I used prostaglandins once for a bitch with pyo - it briefly stopped breathing IIRC - I swore I would never do it again.

There is a decent published medical protocol with 3 injections of alizin however (I still operate on 99% of cases however).

[/quote]

Edited again

RE: Ovary sparing spay

Beats — Tue, 30 Jul 2019 08:03:17 GMT

I used prostaglandins once for a bitch with pyo - it briefly stopped breathing IIRC - I swore I would never do it again.

There is a decent published medical protocol with 3 injections of alizin however (I still operate on 99% of cases however).

RE: Ovary sparing spay

Iain Richards — Mon, 29 Jul 2019 17:15:21 GMT

All you'd be doing is removing the risk of pyo. There is a derogation in the VSA for neutering, I wonder if this is therefore a mutilation, because you are not doing a full spay.

RE: Ovary sparing spay

Clive Ansell — Mon, 29 Jul 2019 16:16:53 GMT

I would decline this.

I cannot see any benefit to the bitch whatsoever from leaving ovarian tissue in place; would still have seasons, could still get a stump pyometra. Completely illogical.

RE: Ovary sparing spay

Alistair Graham-Evans — Mon, 29 Jul 2019 16:05:30 GMT

The timing of neutering seems to currently be based on national ideologies rather than any evidence. In some Scandinavian countries it is forbidden to neuter dogs except for medical reasons.

Here in Australia it has been traditional to neuter at 6 months and some rescue societies and breeders neuter as young as 8 weeks. Dog registration is expensive for entire animals. It is quite rare to see entire pets and mammary and reproductive tract neoplasia is almost non - existent. I believe urinary incontinence is under - diagnosed here as so many dogs live outside the house. Recent research on the incidence of sarcomas in large breed dogs however has led us to recommend neutering after the first season especially for some breeds. The effect of neutering on cruciate disease seems unclear and I personally believe obesity and genetics have a greater impact - the incidence of cruciate rupture ( other than traumatic) seems exceptionally low in lean working dogs.

Maybe there could be more research comparing disease incidence in different countries however we would be comparing different genetic stock.

Ovary sparing spays seem to be a flawed concept as there is minimal benefit relative to risk as with tubal ligation. On a separate matter, in the case of dogs I am unconvinced that low cost neutering leads to any significant reduction in the stray population and the profession has inflicted a long term economic injury on itself in this regard. Bitch spays are so heavily discounted that clients are unaware that this is a skilled procedure with a significant risk of complications.

RE: Ovary sparing spay

Jill Butterworth — Mon, 29 Jul 2019 14:39:52 GMT

The colleges are now teaching far more about the pros and cons of neutering than just the old story about the risks of mammary carcinomas and spayed bitch incontinence.

There is some evidence of increased risk of the illnesses she mentions in neutered animals, but I'm not sure that the 'ovary sparing' spay is the correct solution, because as Dinu has mentioned, there will remain a risk of pyometra. You could therefore make an argument for not neutering at all as she has effectively desexed her other dog?

We often evaluate risk in terms of our own fear bias rather than looking at evidence/facts/numbers. I have not audited my surgical cases, but subjectively over my career, I've seen far more pyometras (when neutering was uncommon) than osteosarcomas or haemangiosarcomas.

Looking to future management, it's easier to diagnose a pyometra than a stump pyo, and then you might be able to offer medical management if she was still wanting to keep the ovaries. The only way to truly evaluate this dog's risk would be genetic testing for susceptibility, which is not yet possible (as far as I know!), although she might be able to find out what the dog's relatives have died of?

It's easy to overthink this one! Keep detailed notes of your conversations.This translates in the future as 'The vet said not to neuter my dog'. Er no....

RE: Ovary sparing spay

Bob Russell — Mon, 29 Jul 2019 14:02:49 GMT

Do they really want to have to cope with ongoing seasons and the purdah that goes with that? Also is it fair on the other dog?

I would say no on welfare grounds but then I can say no without discussing with a boss or manager!!

RE: Ovary sparing spay

Catherine Williams — Mon, 29 Jul 2019 13:50:06 GMT

Suspect she has been on the holistic groups, I've found a website that sings the techniques praises https://www.parsemus.org/projects/ovary-sparing-spay/ and it appears to be much lauded by Dr Karen Becker who is a holistic vet "expert" but I can't find anything by anyone I would accept as a surgical or oncological specialist saying that it is a better technique to use.

They describe that the pyo risk is significant & you must ensure to remove every bit of the uterus to minimise that risk

RE: Ovary sparing spay

Bob Russell — Mon, 29 Jul 2019 13:43:48 GMT

Not going to help reduce the risk of mammary carcinomas which is one of my long term concerns for smaller breeds.

Been talking to someone with a Google degree I suspect.

Edited to replace larger breeds with smaller ones!

RE: Ovary sparing spay

Dinu Catilina — Mon, 29 Jul 2019 13:43:20 GMT

She already removed the hormones from the male, that's what suprelorin does, it's a testicular sparing castration. I would refuse to leave the ovaries behind and I suspect there is still a risk of uterine stump pyometra.