Desexing

Speying a female (which involves the removal of her uterus and ovaries) will stop her coming into season and will significantly reduce the incidence of mammary tumours, the most common cancer in female dogs. It also means that infection of the uterus (pyometra) cannot occur, and the prospect of ending up with an unwanted litter is eliminated.

Castrating males, (which involves removal of the testes) can significantly reduce testosterone-related traits such as urine-marking, hyper-sexuality, territoriality, and roaming. It reduces the incidence of prostate problems in older dogs, and eliminates testicular cancer.

As with keyhole desexing, traditional desexing involves a general anaesthetic and is a surgical procedure. Both of these procedures have risks associated with them and clients will be made aware of these. We use intravenous fluids throughout all general anesthetics and will discuss this with you further prior to surgery.

We recommend a pre-anaesthetic blood profile to minimise surgical risk. This test is carried out in our in-house laboratory and can be done in the morning just before surgery. If you have any questions regarding this test or any other aspects of the surgery please call us or drop in to ACE to discuss the surgery with one of our friendly team members.

Keyhole surgery (or minimally invasive surgery) is an advanced, safe and very gentle method for desexing your dog. This procedure requires only a very small incision and enables the surgeon to perform precision surgery. Keyhole desexing in females involves the removal of the ovaries only, rather than the uterus and ovaries which is performed during a traditional desexing.

Castration: Keyhole surgery can also be used to remove the undescended testicles of the male patient, safely and less invasively than the traditional open method.

Keyhole desexing offers numerous benefits over traditional desexing and is considered globally, to be the gold standard in desexing surgery.

The benefits of keyhole desexing:

Comfort: The gentlest method. Considerably less pain, during and post operatively. Requires much less aftercare.

Recovery: A rapid return to normal function and activities. Patients require only 2 days rest, as opposed to up to 2 weeks of confinement with the traditional technique.

Safety: Minimally invasive, smaller incisions with minimal blood loss or infection risk.

Medication: Shorter operative time with less overall anaesthetic. Less post operative pain control medication.

For more information download a Keyhole Desexing brochure or contact ACE Vet Hospital