Laparoscopic Speys

Get your energetic dog back to normal activities in 2 days time!

At Nelson vets we are one of very few clinics in the country to offer laparoscopic speys. This is a much less invasive ‘keyhole’ procedure for neutering female dogs and studies have estimated 65% less pain than a traditional spey. 

With a laprascopic spey an endoscope with a camera attached and specialist instruments are passed into the abdomen through 2 small holes (hence the term keyhole) in the body wall. Using the camera the surgeon is easily able to view clear and magnified images on a TV monitor, isolate the ovaries, cauterise the vessels and remove the ovaries. This ovariectomy prevents the bitch from becoming pregnant in the future.

The advantages over traditional bitch speys are:

• Smaller surgical wound
• Less postoperative pain
• Faster recovery from surgery ( back to normal exercise after 48hrs)
• Less risk of post op complications

For a lot of people the idea of having to restrict their very bouncy young dog wearing cone of shame for 10 days after a normal bitch spey is very stressful. With a laparoscopic spey the dog can go back to normal exercise levels 2 days after surgery.

Read about Gris the poodles laparoscopic surgery experience in our blog!

With a traditional spey a bigger surgical incision is made and the ovaries pulled up away from their attachments so the vessels can be tied off and the ovaries removed. This is thought to cause more discomfort and a longer surgical recovery.

This surgery is only performed at a few clinics in New Zealand as it requires investment in specialist equipment and extensive training of the surgeons. We have had owners bring dogs from as far as Auckland, Christchurch and Queenstown to have the procedure.

If you are interested in finding out more about this service and booking your dog in, please give us a call.