WHY LAPAROSCOPIC OVER TRADITIONAL METHOD OF SPAY?
While a traditional spay is certainly effective, the availability of minimally invasive options in veterinary medicine offers significant improvements. A traditional spay involves a 3-4 inch abdominal incision and a full open abdominal surgery. The blood vessels are tied with sutures (stitches) and soft tissues stretched or torn to allow removal of the reproductive tract.
In a laparoscopic spay a small 1cm abdominal incision is made, just large enough to introduce a small camera and set of instruments directly into the abdomen. The blood vessels and soft tissues are cauterized and cut. By cauterizing tissue, nerve endings and blood vessels are sealed, meaning that very few pain sensations will be transmitted and a minimal amount of bleeding will occur.
Dr Paul is considered a travelling vet, and comes from outside of our clinic once or twice a month to perform these procedures. Due to Dr Paul’s incredibly busy schedule, we do tend to have a bit of a wait list when it comes to scheduling the laparoscopic spays, so it is best to schedule well in advance.
Less painful – a study published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association showed an average of a 65% decrease in pain scores when compared to traditional spay methods
Less bleeding
Less complications
Faster recovery
Day surgery – your pet goes home the same day
Surgery and pain management have always been interests of mine. My first exposure to minimally invasive surgery in veterinary medicine was in 2008 when I attended a series of lectures at one of the major conferences. I was immediately hooked! After researching for myself I was convinced that we could be performing less painful, less invasive surgeries on our patients on a daily basis. In 2010 I began performing laparoscopic spays, gastropexies, cryptorchid neuters and liver biopsies on dogs and cats in a general practice setting, and the response was tremendously positive. Clients loved that their pets were receiving cutting edge care and recovering so quickly from their surgeries. Staff members and colleagues were amazed at how comfortable spays were, and how they walked out of the clinic at the end of the day like nothing had happened. In fact, the hospital was so committed to minimally invasive surgery that our client compliance rate was almost 100% shortly after we started offering this option.
By working together, I hope to improve the lives of pets as well as help veterinarians grow their practices to their utmost potential.