Pet Laparoscopy

Several soft tissue abdominal surgeries can be performed laparoscopically including:

Ovariectomy (Spay)

Ovariectomy is a laparoscopic spay. The female animal’s ovaries are removed to prevent heat cycles and pregnancy. Spaying female animals also significantly decrease the chance of breast cancer and uterine infections as they age. Laparoscopic surgery allows better visualization of the ovaries and uses smaller incisions. In the traditional approach, ligaments involved need to be stretched and broken down to allow for visualization of the ovaries. The reduced trauma to the soft tissue and incisions allows for faster recovery and less pain.

Cryptorchid Surgery
This is a surgery to remove an intra-abdominal testicle in a male. The testicles usually descend from the abdomen into the scrotum in male animals. Unfortunately, this does not happen in all males and one or both of the testicles can remain in the abdomen. Doing this procedure laparoscopically allows better visualization of the retained testicle than traditional methods and it also decreases surgical time exploring the abdomen to find it. These advantages allow for quicker recovery after surgery.

Organ Biopsy
Some patients require a biopsy of abdominal organs to help diagnose and treat disease. There are few contraindications for taking biopsy samples laparoscopically due to the fact that it is minimally invasive and can decrease time under anesthesia. The camera enables the surgeon to explore the entire abdomen through a small incision and allows the organs to be visualized and evaluated. The ease of obtaining surgical biopsies is dramatically improved over other methods like ultrasound-guided or traditional surgery. The samples taken during the procedure are then sent to a laboratory for evaluation and testing. Testing times vary from a few days to over a week.

If you were referred to us for this procedure, the test results will be faxed to your family veterinarian. This will allow your pet’s doctor to make a treatment plan and give you continued care.

Preventive Gastropexy
Preventive gastropexy is a procedure that is used to help prevent gastric dilation/volvulus. Gastric dilation/volvulus is when the pet’s stomach distends and flips onto itself. This causes decreased blood flow in the abdomen and can be life-threatening. Large breed dogs are more at risk for this problem. In this procedure, we attach the stomach to the abdominal wall. It does not interfere with stomach function or growth. The surgery prevents the twisting in this syndrome which tends to be the most critical and life-threatening part. This preventive procedure is recommended for large breed dogs at 6 to 7 months of age. It can be performed in combination with a spay or neuter procedure.