Indian Journal of Veterinary Surgery

The present study was carried out on 24 healthy non-pregnant female dogs of varying age and body weight, divided in two groups, A and B, based on the surgical approach. Ovariohysterectomy was performed by conventional ventral midline laparotomy technique in group A, and by triple port laparoscopy in group B. Total surgical time in groups A and B was 40.29±0.87 min and 62.58±2.95 min, respectively. In group A, mean time required from skin incision to entry into the peritoneal cavity was 2.79±0.15 min, while in group B mean time required from skin incision to Veress needle insertion was 1.41±0.14 min. The study revealed that laparoscopic ovariohysterectomy took more surgical time but small incision gave more comfort to the animals as well as owners postoperatively. The mean pain score significantly increased after 30 min up to 48 hr postoperatively in both groups. The complications encountered in group A were difficulty in exteriorization of right ovary in fatty animals, slipping of knot, wound dehiscence and incisional hernia; while in group B, spleen puncture, difficulty in cauterization of ovarian pedicle in fatty animals and moderate ovarian pedicle bleeding were observed. In conclusion, laparoscopic ovariohysterectomy caused less tissue trauma, less postoperative pain, required smaller incision with better visualization but required more surgical time as compared to conventional midline ovariohysterectomy.