LOVE Spay
Aloha Veterinary Hospital is proud to offer LOVE spays Laparoscopic OVE (i.e. ovariectomy) as an alternative to the traditional dog spay. The LOVE Spay is a safe, minimally invasive, and less painful alternative that offers a lower complication risk and faster recovery.
Love Spay FAQs
In addition to a smaller incision size, laparoscopic surgery is less traumatic to your pet’s tissues and organs, because less manipulation, tension, and pressure than a traditional spay is required, in part because the uterus is left largely undisturbed. Laparoscopic technology also provides detailed and magnified visualization far beyond the naked eye, which allows more accurate identification of crucial landmarks—many important structures are impossible to see during a traditional spay, especially in deep-chested or adult dogs—and precise clamping, ligating, and cutting. LOVE spays are therefore less painful—up to 65% less, according to one study—and may be faster to perform, with fewer complications and a more rapid recovery than an open or traditional spay.
There are many issues related to this question to understand:
- Traditional spays are performed through a tiny hole, with the veterinarian grabbing blindly to hook organs.
- To gain access to the ovaries and uterus through this tiny hole, the organs are tugged on and pulled, resulting in soft tissue trauma and pain within the abdomen and diaphragm.
- A single, larger incision site is more likely to have surgical complications such as bleeding, dehiscence, infection and seroma formation, compared to two smaller incision sites.
- Although the smaller incision sites are favorable, the main benefit of a LOVE spay is the decreased pain associated with the procedure. Animals who have had a traditional spay are often in discomfort caused by ripping the ovarian ligament from the body wall to be able to exteriorize the ovary so the surgeon can suture it.
- Although a veterinarian may be able to perform a traditional spay quickly, the timing does not change how much post op discomfort the procedure causes. The resulting pain increases a pet’s risk for anesthetic and post-surgical complications.
Anesthetized pets can still react to visceral “belly” pain, especially as pressure, traction, and tension are applied to sensitive structures (i.e., the ovarian ligaments and the uterine body) during a traditional spay. Surgical pain can trigger a harmful cascade of cellular processes that cause unnecessary suffering, increased postoperative pain (i.e., hypersensitivity) and delayed healing. Along with minimally invasive laparoscopic techniques, precise dissection (i.e., cutting), and delicate tissue handling, we protect against pain’s negative consequences by ensuring all patients receive pre-anesthetic and post-surgical pain medication.
Although your pet’s small incisions will heal more rapidly than the traditional long incision, if traditional sutures are used, you’ll still need to monitor the surgical site and prevent your pet from licking or chewing for 10 to 14 days. We therefore will still recommend an Elizabethan collar (E-collar, cone, etc) to prevent infection or dehiscence (i.e., incision opening), and reduced or closely monitored activity to avoid internal complications (e.g., no jumping, running, or swimming), although your pet can enjoy short controlled leash walks after three or four days.
Uterine cancer is relatively rare in dogs, and responsible for only 0.4% of canine cancers. Pyometra, a life-threatening infection where the uterus fills with pus, spontaneously occurs after estrus or the female heat cycle in unspayed pets. Removing the ovaries, which control estrus, during a LOVE spay eliminates pyometra risk. Most veterinarians still perform a complete ovariohysterectomy, removing the uterus and ovaries, instead of performing an ovariectomy. However, the uterus is unlikely to develop post-surgical complications, and removal is unnecessary.
Such challenges are rare, but our surgical team can convert a laparoscopic spay procedure to a traditional open abdominal spay in only a few minutes. Patient safety is our number one priority, and we will always opt for the method that ensures the best outcome.
No. The ovaries produce estrogen and eggs and control the estrus (i.e., heat) cycle. Without ovaries, the uterus is alive but inert. After a LOVE spay, your dog will not experience any biochemical or physical heat-related signs, or any hormone-induced behavior. However, incomplete ovarian tissue removal, which is rare, or urinary tract infections, can cause a similar response from male dogs. If you note that complication, speak to your veterinarian.
LOVE spays may not be advised for toy-breed dogs, small puppies, and cats, because their size already dictates small incisions. Other contraindications include obesity, diaphragmatic hernias, and some cardiovascular problems.
If your pet is due to be spayed, contact your Aloha Veterinary Hospital veterinarian, who will advise you on whether laparoscopic surgery is the right choice.
Love Spay FAQs
In addition to a smaller incision size, laparoscopic surgery is less traumatic to your pet’s tissues and organs, because less manipulation, tension, and pressure than a traditional spay is required, in part because the uterus is left largely undisturbed. Laparoscopic technology also provides detailed and magnified visualization far beyond the naked eye, which allows more accurate identification of crucial landmarks—many important structures are impossible to see during a traditional spay, especially in deep-chested or adult dogs—and precise clamping, ligating, and cutting. LOVE spays are therefore less painful—up to 65% less, according to one study—and may be faster to perform, with fewer complications and a more rapid recovery than an open or traditional spay.
There are many issues related to this question to understand:
- Traditional spays are performed through a tiny hole, with the veterinarian grabbing blindly to hook organs.
- To gain access to the ovaries and uterus through this tiny hole, the organs are tugged on and pulled, resulting in soft tissue trauma and pain within the abdomen and diaphragm.
- A single, larger incision site is more likely to have surgical complications such as bleeding, dehiscence, infection and seroma formation, compared to two smaller incision sites.
- Although the smaller incision sites are favorable, the main benefit of a LOVE spay is the decreased pain associated with the procedure. Animals who have had a traditional spay are often in discomfort caused by ripping the ovarian ligament from the body wall to be able to exteriorize the ovary so the surgeon can suture it.
- Although a veterinarian may be able to perform a traditional spay quickly, the timing does not change how much post op discomfort the procedure causes. The resulting pain increases a pet’s risk for anesthetic and post-surgical complications.
Anesthetized pets can still react to visceral “belly” pain, especially as pressure, traction, and tension are applied to sensitive structures (i.e., the ovarian ligaments and the uterine body) during a traditional spay. Surgical pain can trigger a harmful cascade of cellular processes that cause unnecessary suffering, increased postoperative pain (i.e., hypersensitivity) and delayed healing. Along with minimally invasive laparoscopic techniques, precise dissection (i.e., cutting), and delicate tissue handling, we protect against pain’s negative consequences by ensuring all patients receive pre-anesthetic and post-surgical pain medication.
Although your pet’s small incisions will heal more rapidly than the traditional long incision, if traditional sutures are used, you’ll still need to monitor the surgical site and prevent your pet from licking or chewing for 10 to 14 days. We therefore will still recommend an Elizabethan collar (E-collar, cone, etc) to prevent infection or dehiscence (i.e., incision opening), and reduced or closely monitored activity to avoid internal complications (e.g., no jumping, running, or swimming), although your pet can enjoy short controlled leash walks after three or four days.
Uterine cancer is relatively rare in dogs, and responsible for only 0.4% of canine cancers. Pyometra, a life-threatening infection where the uterus fills with pus, spontaneously occurs after estrus or the female heat cycle in unspayed pets. Removing the ovaries, which control estrus, during a LOVE spay eliminates pyometra risk. Most veterinarians still perform a complete ovariohysterectomy, removing the uterus and ovaries, instead of performing an ovariectomy. However, the uterus is unlikely to develop post-surgical complications, and removal is unnecessary.
Such challenges are rare, but our surgical team can convert a laparoscopic spay procedure to a traditional open abdominal spay in only a few minutes. Patient safety is our number one priority, and we will always opt for the method that ensures the best outcome.
No. The ovaries produce estrogen and eggs and control the estrus (i.e., heat) cycle. Without ovaries, the uterus is alive but inert. After a LOVE spay, your dog will not experience any biochemical or physical heat-related signs, or any hormone-induced behavior. However, incomplete ovarian tissue removal, which is rare, or urinary tract infections, can cause a similar response from male dogs. If you note that complication, speak to your veterinarian.
LOVE spays may not be advised for toy-breed dogs, small puppies, and cats, because their size already dictates small incisions. Other contraindications include obesity, diaphragmatic hernias, and some cardiovascular problems.
If your pet is due to be spayed, contact your Aloha Veterinary Hospital veterinarian, who will advise you on whether laparoscopic surgery is the right choice.