Laproscopic Spey

[On the Hoof]

Didn't want to jump on Pistolpetes Spey thread, but reading it made me think about laproscopic speying. My puppy is a long way from needing to be speyed (she is only 14 weeks old) but I have heard that laproscopic surgery involves a lot less 'down time', pain etc. Has anyone had this done and would they recommend it? I don't suppose there is any research as yet on long term pros and cons of this surgery compared to traditional spey?

 

[BlackadderUK]

I had my Bulldog done around 3 years ago & from that experience I would recommend it. Very small wounds, faster recovery, no exterior stitches & less need for "cage rest" to allow a larger wound to heal.
The only negative I can see is that it is a fair bit more expensive than a conventional spay.
This is her about 2 days after the procedure, wounds circled

 

[Chiffy]

I have had two bitches spayed this year. Neither were any trouble, very neat stitches , wound healed and disappeared quickly, no pain killers needed. They were quiet the day they came home and after that normal. Restricted exercise, ie, on a lead for 10 days. Even laparoscopic is an operation with parts of the body needing time to heal. It’s also at least double the price.

 

[JennBags]

We have just today booked Juno in for hers, we've chosen laparoscopic as its only £100 more, involves less downtime and is less invasive. She's having it done in November.

 

[ihatework]

I got a quote for my bitch who is being done mid October, annoyingly after the start of the shooting season - so I’m opting for laproscopic, vet reckons she will be back working within the week?? It’s approx £100 more than traditional Spey

 

[AmyMay]

I would always try and opt for one in any future un-spayed bitch I may have, regardless of price. I’d never willingly put a dog through the full incision spay again.

 

[On the Hoof]

thanks all, I was thinking that I wouldn't want to put my dog through the full operation if I could avoid it. I assumed that they dog still needs 'down time' but that this would be shorter that the traditional operation.

 

[Chiffy]

It seems I am in the minority here and advancement in technique is always good.
When I looked into it for my dogs, it involved a two hour journey to a vet that could do it and the cost was £400.
I do think the only thing to be cautious of is doing too much too soon afterwards just because you can’t see the operation from the outside.

 

[V&F]

I had my lurcher done by lap spay around a year ago.

I’d highly recommend it, and to me it was worth the £200. Far less invasive and less pain.

She was obviously mopey and sore the first day but the next day she was totally fine and wanted to run around like an idiot.

Two tiny little incisions which were glued rather than stitched.

 

[tda]

I just had my older terrier bitch done by normal spay. I enquired about the keyhole, but it was more than double the price at our vets.
She came thru the operation fine (she is 12) with her little leotard on 😍 wound healed really quick, within 6 days you could not see when the incision had been.
Did restrict her walking a bit tho, as other have said, there is still internal healing going on

 

[twiggy2]

The recovery time should not in truth be any different the same muscles have been cut to so the surgery.
I have spoken to many women who have had hysterectomies bit keyhole and conventional and the vast majority who had keyhole wish they had gone the conventional route for various reasons, the same cannot be said for those that had conventional surgery.
Personally of the bitch is having a ga and surgery I would rather the vet can have a look and check everything else is normal looking by the conventional route.
The vets I have worked with mostly support conventional even those that do keyhole when requested and this is partly due to the dogs not being rested as well by owners after surgery.

 

[Fiona]

Didn't want to jump on Pistolpetes Spey thread, but reading it made me think about laproscopic speying. My puppy is a long way from needing to be speyed (she is only 14 weeks old) but I have heard that laproscopic surgery involves a lot less 'down time', pain etc. Has anyone had this done and would they recommend it? I don't suppose there is any research as yet on long term pros and cons of this surgery compared to traditional spey?

My last two dogs and one cat have been keyhole, and it's great.

Very quick recovery. Can definitely recommend.

Fiona

 

[Chiffy]

Twiggy, these are the points that I have heard before in favour of the conventional route. My dogs still recovered quickly from conventional spay so it wasn’t too worrying that no vets in this area offer it.

 

[rara007]

I had my sisters collie done keyhole even though I only do conventional. I think laparoscopic surgery for both people and animals is a great step forwards.

 

[Clodagh]

I have had two bitches spayed this year. Neither were any trouble, very neat stitches , wound healed and disappeared quickly, no pain killers needed. They were quiet the day they came home and after that normal. Restricted exercise, ie, on a lead for 10 days. Even laparoscopic is an operation with parts of the body needing time to heal. It’s also at least double the price.

We have always been traditional and would stick to that for the cost alone. An extra £100 is still an extra £100! Ours are going for normal off lead walks after a few days, although no running or jumping.

 

[TheresaW]

Luna had a normal spay. Up to her, she would have been charging about as normal within 2 days. She was kept as quiet as possible for about 10 days, which was hard work for us.

 

[MurphysMinder]

I have always had mine spayed by conventional methods and at present can't see any reason to change. My dogs have always bounced back very quickly and it is no great hardship to just keep to lead exercise for a week or two. Mine have always had tiny, very neat scars. I can understand people with working dogs or those who compete in dog sports going for the quicker recovery but would always be worried about doing stuff too soon, even with the laparoscopic spay.

 

[deb_l222]

Willow will have a 'conventional' spay, when the time comes but I'm not concerned about her having more downtime because of it. She doesn't really do anything

Two weeks on a lead is fine. Might be a bit longer for her as she's also got an umbilical hernia to repair at the same time but I'm in no rush and I'd rather it heal properly.

 

[Oenoke]

I've had 2 bitches done this way, recovery a lot quicker than the 2 previous bitches that were done the conventional way, will do this for all future bitches.

 

[Moobli]

This is now on my mind as I’m getting a bitch pup. I think I’ll go for the lap spay once the pup has mentally matured. My friend’s working police dog had a lap spay and she was back to work within two days and had no issues whatsoever. It is about £100 more expensive and a trip to near Edinburgh rather than the usual 35 minutes to my local vet but I think it’ll be worth it for my situation.