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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.

Example Title Many people have themselves benefitted from laparoscopic surgery, or know someone who has. This technology has been in mainstream human medicine for many years, with applications ranging from liposuction, gastric bypass, appendectomy (i.e., appendix removal), and joint repair and reconstruction (i.e., arthroscopy). Laparoscopy is a minimally invasive surgical technique in which a small intra-abdominal camera visualizes and magnifies the internal structures without the need for a large incision. The camera’s magnification capabilities and specially designed long-handled laparoscopic instruments allow the surgeon to perform all necessary actions (e.g., structure identification, tissue manipulation, clamping, cauterizing, tissue removal, etc.) through two or three small “keyhole” incisions approximately 3/16 of an inch long. In the past, equipment cost and the necessary training have limited veterinary laparoscopy to universities and specialty referral hospitals. But, technological advances and hands-on learning opportunities have brought this innovative option to pets and their owners—including right here at Aloha Veterinary Hospital. This innovative surgical equipment also allows us to offer other advanced procedures, such as minimally invasive prophylactic gastropexy, cryptorchid neutering, and liver and splenic biopsies. Laparoscopy Explained Read More

Example Title The female pet spay (i.e., ovariohysterectomy [OHE]) is a common but often underestimated, abdominal procedure. A traditional spay may sound simple because the procedure is so popular, but the spay is a major abdominal surgery that requires a lengthy incision to remove both ovaries and the uterine body all the way down to the cervix, as well as extensive tissue manipulation (e.g., traction and tearing) that often leads to bruising and pain. Traditional spays are daily procedures in most veterinary hospitals, yet they still have a relatively high complication rate and a prolonged recovery period of at least 10 to 14 days. The LOVE spay is a safe and minimally invasive alternative to the traditional spay, where the ovaries are identified and carefully removed from the reproductive tract through two small incisions using laparoscopic equipment. Removing only the ovaries achieves sterility without the unnecessary pain and trauma caused by removing the larger—and frequently more vascular—Y-shaped uterus. LOVE Spay Versus Traditional Spay Read More

Meet Dr. Marina Yamate

Dr. Marina Yamate is the founder of Aloha Veterinary Hospital and the veterinarian behind our LOVE spays. She earned her Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from Western University of Health Sciences and practiced general and emergency medicine across North Orange County before opening Aloha. Minimally invasive surgical techniques are one of her special interests, and the LOVE spay is that philosophy in practice: smaller incisions, less pain, and a faster recovery for your dog.

Wondering if a LOVE spay is right for your dog? Call us at (714) 462-3360 and our team will walk you through it.