Advances in laparoscopic spay techniques for dogs: the past, present and future

Since the early 1990s, minimally invasive surgery, specifically laparoscopy, has been widely adopted as an alternative to laparotomy in human surgery and has become a standard of care for the treatment of many conditions. The advantages of laparoscopy are now obvious for people. Numerous studies have demonstrated that laparoscopic procedures result in shorter hospital stays and improved surgical outcomes when compared with open abdominal surgery. In veterinary medicine, there is a similar paradigm shift from open surgery to minimally invasive surgery, except that the widespread use of the technique has lagged the human field by 10 to 15 years. Over the past decade, the development and implementation of laparoscopy in veterinary surgery has accelerated, particularly for one of the most common procedures performed in veterinary practice, and for which owners are seeking a less invasive option: elective canine ovariectomy.1,2 The first canine laparoscopic sterilisation procedure was reported by Wildt and Lawler in 1985.3 Since then, laparoscopic ovariectomy techniques have been extensively developed and different methods have been described. Laparoscopic ovariectomies are now routinely performed and have become the most popular, if not the most commonly performed, minimally invasive soft tissue procedure in veterinary medicine in several countries.4,5 To date, despite the lack of comparative blinded trials, the advantages of laparoscopy are indisputable.6 Indeed, many reports describe fewer perioperative complications, reduced postoperative pain, less surgical stress and an increase in postoperative activity levels in dogs undergoing laparoscopic ovariectomy compared with open procedures.7-10 Additional advantages of laparoscopic ovariectomy include excellent visibility of the genitourinary tract, including the ovarian vessels and other viscera. …