If your dog is due to be spayed, which option is best for their long-term health? Removing just the ovaries is becoming more common, but how does this compare against a traditional ovariohysterectomy?
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- I don't believe there is any significant difference in risks or benefits of removing just the ovaries compared to a traditional ovariohysterectomy.
- In theory there will be a chance of uterine tumors but these are incredible uncommon (uterine cancer in dogs makes up only 0.4% of all cancers in dogs) so this is a theoretical rather than "real-life" risk.
- If I was spaying an older dog and there was some form of uterine problem present then I would always take the whole uterus along with the ovaries. For young dogs, this will not be an issue.
- Removing just the ovaries can make the surgery faster and the incision smaller - although this will depend on the surgeon performing the procedure. Also laparoscopic spays only ever remove the ovaries.
- Removing just the ovaries likely comes with a slight reduction in surgery risk (although this is already small) as exposure may be better and so the risk of bleeding is reduced.
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