Any pet owner would want faster recovery time, less pain, and less risk of complications during an operation, especially in the case of something as invasive as a spay. Your dog or cat deserves to have the best care possible, and with a laparoscopic spay (or a lap spay for short), the risks are more minimal for your pet during and after surgery.
A spay is a highly recommended procedure that results in better health outcomes in both dogs and cats on average. It is a preventive procedure that could easily save your pet's life, while also tempering roaming or other heat-driven behaviors. Spaying prevents things like uterine infections and mammary tumors, which often go unnoticed until they are life-threatening, and prevents unwanted litters and associated risks, like dystocia, or difficult birth, which can result in death.
A typical spay requires an incision in the abdomen which removes the uterus as well as the ovaries. Although the incision is around two to four inches long on average, the organs are removed from deeper inside the body cavity than in the case of a lap spay. The recovery time is usually longer, as the procedure itself has inherently more discomfort, and the body is doing more work to heal than with lap spays. A laparoscopic spay is more minimally invasive by nature, and the recovery time for the lap spay is usually between two to three days, versus with a traditional spay healing time can vary from ten to fourteen days. Because the primary organs responsible for producing sex hormones are the ovaries, a lap spay only removes these two organs which can be cleanly clipped off and removed from the body through two specialized incisions, which are usually around a quarter of an inch each.
A lap spay also gives the doctor a picture of the procedure without direct handling. The camera is small enough to both travel through one of the preexisting incisions and through the body cavity. This results in less tissue trauma overall so as not to have to move anything to clear a visual pathway. These state-of-the-art cameras also magnify and provide a high definition view for the doctor to view the surgical and surrounding areas. The technology itself is modern and clinically preferred in most cases.
In some specific cases, traditional spays are preferred because they tend to be widely available, especially in rural areas. They also tend to be less expensive because the equipment used is not as specialized, and doctors don’t need to be trained for a new procedure. In the event of a more complex case, such as those involving a pyometra, in which more extensive organ removal is necessary, or in cases where abdominal exploration is necessary due to comorbid issues, traditional spays are still the clinical standard. Keep in mind though, spaying your pet before these complications arise would prevent them, and put them through less trauma overall.
Most of the time, with routine spays, Olde Towne Animal Hospital recommends laparoscopic spays for the sake of saving your pet pain, confinement, and time. If you have any questions or would like to further discuss a plan for your specific case, please don’t hesitate to give us a call at (470) 978-0224, or stop by at 425 Buford Hwy, St 103 Suwanee, GA 30024.