Laparoscopic Assisted Hysterectomy

Procedure:

This surgery removes the entire uterus and all (or most) of the cervix but leaves the ovaries intact and functional. The surgical approach is like a laparoscopic spay with an additional port caudally to facilitate greater access to remove the cervix.

Health risks:

Ovarian cancer is rare enough in dogs that the ovaries should not be removed just to try to prevent it. That makes mammary tumors the remaining concern. Although early studies reported a higher incidence of mammary tumors in intact dogs, a review article indicated that most of these studies were biased, making conclusions suspect (Beauvais et al., 2012). In one study, mammary tumors were reported in 1.25% of older female dogs, with higher incidence in poodles, English cocker spaniels, and dachshunds (Zatloukal et al., 2005). Luckily, mammary tumors are pretty easy to detect when rubbing your dog’s belly, and prognosis for the tumors that become cancerous is good when they are caught early and removed.

Management:

The female dog will still have hormones, and may behave differently during the heat cycle. And while she cannot get pregnant, she may be attractive to males during heat — so owners may want to keep her indoors or away from intact males during this time.