Laparoscopic Surgery

What is laparoscopic surgery?

“Abdominal Keyhole Surgery” or “laparoscopy” has been widely used for many years in human surgery for many procedures due to its clear advantages compared to traditional open surgery.

Laparoscopy is a minimally invasive technique for performing abdominal surgery through one or more tiny incisions in the abdominal wall - making it ideal for performing spays. An endoscopic camera is inserted through a tiny incision in your pet’s abdomen, providing a highly detailed view of the entire procedure and improving surgical precision.

In a conventional spay, a large incision is made to allow the surgeon adequate sight and room to remove the uterus and ovaries.

What are the advantages of a laparoscopic spay over the conventional method?

This type of surgery offers several benefits, both for you and your pet:

• Reduced pain - the two incisions are tiny (significantly smaller than the single large wound created for conventional spay surgery). There is far less trauma to the abdominal structures that suspend the repro- ductive system. Thus, studies suggest that post-operative pain is reduced by over 65%. This allows for a shorter course of postoperative painkillers.
• Small wounds - even though the area of fur removed is similar, your dog will only have 2 very small wounds in the midline of her tummy, near the umbilical scar.
• Faster recovery - with a smaller wound and less abdominal trauma, recovery time is much quicker. This allows for a very short rest period after surgery, generally 2 or 3 days, compared to 14 days for a conventional spay.
• Minimal complication risk - smaller incisions speed up wound healing and lower the risk of any subsequent infection. Wound licking and chewing of stitches are minimised as only a few subcutaneous sutures are used.