46-48 Pollen Street, Grey Lynn, Auckland
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F: (09) 360 0938
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Desexing

Bitch Spay:

Spaying, or neutering, involves the removal of the ovaries and the uterus (Ovario-hysterectomy). Surgery can be performed from 5½ months provided the bitch is not in season (rescue organisations are often operating much earlier but this has an increased anaesthetic risk). However, if surgery has been delayed to after the first season, then the optimum time to spay is 3 months after the finish of the season.

*Reasons for...*
1.	Your bitch will no longer come into season (no mess or inconvenience).
2.	She will be unable to get pregnant - so there will be no unwanted puppies.
3.	The risk of her getting a potentially life-threatening uterine infection (pyometra) is removed. This is common in middle aged non-neutered bitches.
4.	The chances of her suffering from hormone induced mammary (breast) cancer can be reduced. This is much more likely if she is spayed before her first season.

Reasons against...
1.	Weight gain is always a worry as this in itself can cause problems. You can monitor your dog's weight either by observation or by having her weighed whilst she is in the surgery.
2.	All general anaesthetics involve some risks. The risk is smaller in young, fit animals than in older dogs (e.g. those that are ill with a pyometra).
3.	A minority of spayed bitches develop urinary incontinence in later life. This is usually easily treated with medication.

Castration of the dog:

Castration, or neutering, involves surgical removal of the testicles and can be done in any male dog from around 8 months onwards.

*Reasons for...*
1.	All male dogs have natural urges. Castration removes these, and also the resulting tendency to roam and other undesirable behaviour.
2.	Some potentially life-threatening medical problems are more likely to occur in non-castrated males e.g. hernias, prostate trouble, anal tumours, testicular tumours. Castration reduces or removes the danger.

*Reasons against...*
1.	'Their temperament changes for the worse' - This is not true. There is no change in the dog's temperament, if anything they become more loving.
2.	Weight gain is always a worry as this in itself can cause problems. You can monitor your dog's weight either by observation or by having him weighed whilst he is in the surgery.
3.	All general anaesthetics involve some risks. The risk is smaller in young, fit animals than in older dogs (e.g. those that are ill with testicular tumours).

Spays and Neuters: What are Ponsonby Veterinary Centres procedures?

Our Procedures and their Benefits

The first big expense in a pet's life is usually spaying or neutering, which we do at 5-10 months of age. Quite often owners will phone around for the cheapest price, and go for the lowest quote without much idea what they are getting for their money. It's the same operation, isn't it? With the same number of stitches in the skin? So why are we more expensive than some practices? Well, it's just like anything else in life: "you get what you pay for."

THOROUGH PREANAESTHETIC CHECK

A Veterinarian always examines your pet and checks his or her heart, lungs, and general condition. The anaesthetic does not proceed if problems are identified.

Pre-anaesthetic blood testing is offered. This is done using sophisticated in-clinic laboratory machines. Important organs such as the liver and kidneys are checked. This is an extra cost but we aim to prevent any possible complications.

CAREFUL ANAESTHESIA

A combination of sedating and pain relieving drugs is used.

Combination premeds reduce the dose of anaesthetic needed to make dogs deep enough to operate on, smoothing induction/recovery and reducing risk.
Anaesthetics do not provide much pain relief; so it is essential that this is treated before, during and after surgery. We will also place a local anaesthetic in the testes when castrating dogs.
Avoiding pain relief both before and after desexing makes the procedure cheaper - we will not do this.
When we come to give the anaesthetic we use one with minimal effects on the heart, brain and kidney (critical organs for anaesthetic safety). The safest anesthetics are not always the cheapest.

CATHETER PLACEMENT

We give the anaesthetic through a catheter which has been inserted into a vein on the pets' arm. This means we can give emergency drugs if something goes wrong during the operation. It also allows us to give fluids during surgery. Not placing a catheter would allow us to make the procedure cheaper - we will not do this.

STERILE SURGERY

Once anaesthetised the skin is shaved, and carefully prepared using antiseptics. The vet and nurse then put on full "scrubs" i.e. Sterile gown, gloves, mask and hat. They take the cat into a dedicated operating theatre, and dress the site for surgery with a sterile drape.
Avoiding wearing this protective clothing and would allow for a cheaper operation, but increases the risk of infection - we will not do this.
To avoid using proper sterile clothing, an antibiotic injection after surgery has been suggested; this however has been proved to be ineffective and may cause antibiotic resistance or even a drug reaction - we do not need to do this.

DEDICATED , DETAILED MONITORING

During the operation, the pet is carefully monitored by an experienced qualified nurse who is wholly devoted to making sure that the anaesthetic is safe and smooth. She or he does this by frequently checking and recording the pet's breathing rate, heart rate, blood oxygen, blood pressure and other parameters, utilising special hospital-standard machines.
The blood pressure is important, and we support this with fluids if required. If the pressure drops then kidney damage can result (possibly not obvious until months later), and you cannot tell how low the blood pressure is from just looking at a cat.
The nurse can adjust anaesthetic depth and provide extra pain relief with morphine drips if necessary.
It is cheaper to have a nurse multi-tasking i.e. watching two operations, or manning reception at the same time. However we believe that this would compromise your pets' safety.
The vet uses modern, sharp well-sterilised equipment, and the latest dissolving suture material. This minimises complications and reduces the chance that your pet will develop a stitch infection.

POSTOPERATIVE CARE

After the operation, the skin is cleaned and a dressing is applied in the case of spays. The pet is given further pain relief while he or she wakes up, and has some more to go home on which will ensure that no pain is suffered over the following 3-5 days.
During and after the operation the pet will be on a soft bed heated by a special water blanket.
When he or she is discharged, you will be given a detailed information sheet discussing what you need to do at home to help the recovery from surgery, and any questions or concerns you may have will be answered in full by our caring and professional staff.

So you can see, from beginning to end your pet is provided with the very highest level of care. We know that we are more expensive than some practices for this sort of "routine" surgery. We prefer to charge a little more, and provide the superior service your pet deserves.

For Surgical Instructions Click here

An Alternative to Castration in Dogs

A new drug (GNRH agonist) has been recently developed as an alternative contraceptive to castration and speying in dogs called Suprelorin.

The main uses we have found for this drug is to test how your dog will respond to castration or if you may wish to breed from your dog later on but you don't want to go through seasons or have male dominant behaviour.

Suprelorin comes as an implant that is placed under the skin via a needle. Once implanted your dog will behave as if he/she had been neutered, yet after 6 months or so the implant will run out and your dog will return to his/her previous behaviour.

These are the key points of this drug:

GnRH agonists have been shown to suppress gonadal activity in both male and female dogs, to have a high margin of safety.
The effects of these drugs are fully reversible.
Peptech, Australia has gained approval of sale of its implants by the relevant authorities in Australia and New Zealand under the name Suprelorin©.
Peptech claims efficacy for at least 6 months in 98% of male dogs as contraception, and use as a treatment for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and as an aid in the control of unacceptable behavior.
This also increases the season interval time in bitches, although it is not yet licensed for this useage.
An implant is placed under the skin via a needle, and this releases effective systemic concentrations for 6 mo. to one year or more.

For more information click on the above photo.