Bilateral flank ovariectomy in the dog -surgical technique and sequelae in 72 animals

Seventy-two dogs of 27 breeds were ovariec-tomised and followed for six years minimum. Trie technique used was a bilateral surgical flank approach, removing the ovaries and leaving the uterus in situ. The main technical advantages of the technique are the better ovarian exposure, the possible deep placement of the ligatures and the small incisions. The disadvantages are the need to turn the animal, to redrape it and the difficulty in finding the ovarian bursa in some animals as well as the difficulty of removing the uterus when necessary. Post surgical complications were minimal and consisted mainly of seroma formation in 16 dogs (26 per cent) for a maximum of two weeks. In the long term the major complications were weight gain (60 per cent), excessive hair shedding (26 per cent), aggressiveness towards other dogs (22 per cent), sedentary behaviour (29 per cent) and urinary incontinence (18 per cent). The latter started approximately 1–5 years after surgery and occurred periodically in one half and continuously in the other half of the dogs. Over the mean 10 years follow-up period no cases of pyometra occurred.