Saturday Jun 29, 2013.
Vasectomy done 2 days ago
by Dr Daniel and I.
The owner phoned at 10.40
am. "My dog does not allow
me to change the plaster
covering his wound."
"Is there any blood inside
the plaster?" I asked.
"A bit of dried blood."
"The plaster may be
tight," I said. "Is the
dog licking the plaster?"
"No," the man said. "He
can't as he wears an
e-collar."
"Is the dog eating and
drinking and being
normal?"
"Yes," he said. So the 75
mg of Rimadryl tablet of
one a day must be working.
"Wait another 2 days," I
said. "It is good to check
the wound. Usually I
advise removal 7 days
after surgery."
The owner phoned again as
the plaster was loosened.
He wanted to come to get
the plaster changed.
"I am not in favour of
sedation of the dog to
change plaster unless
necessary as there may be
reactions and risks,
although minimal," I know
the man prefers spend
least on medical costs.
Nobody wants to spend more
anyway. "Besides, it is
going to cost you money."
"There may be flies
attacking his wound," the
man said.
"Put the dog on the table.
Muzzle him. Get a bigger
plaster to cover the loose
plaster. In 2 days' time,
the dog will not feel so
painful and try again."
Vasectomy procedures
The theory is simple. The
practice is harder as
there is a need to be very
careful that the vet does
not incise any artery and
veins. The spermatic cord
is a snow white tube of 3
mm across in this big
breed. Running parallel to
it is an artery of 1.5 mm.
"It is not like the
ordinary neuter," I said
to Dr Daniel. "You don't
even incise the tunica of
the testes. You incise the
area above the testes.
Make sure you don't incise
the urethra which is
nearby.
It
can be quite stressful to
do this operation as
compared to the ordinary
neuter. Two vets will be
better. One holds and
pulls the testes caudally.
The other identifies the
spermatic cord and do
blunt dissection of the
tunica vaginalis
carefully. Or use artery
forceps to help you
separate the vas deferens
from the deferential
artery which runs parallel
to the vas deferens and is
3 mm across in the German
Shepard, if you operate
alone. The exposed
surgical area is small but
extend the skin incision
longer if you cannot
operate properly.
Once the tunica vaginalis
of the spermatic
cord is incised, you can
identify the contents of
the cord. The vas deferens
is a snow-white tube with
a prominent deferential
artery running next to it.
The vas deferens is around
6 mm across in this German
Shepherd. Carefully
isolate the deferential
artery from the vas
deferens. Clamp both ends
of a 1.5 cm length of the
vas deferens. Ligate
the two ends and excise
around 1.5 cm. Push the
pampiniform plexus with
its hidden testicular
artery back into the
inguinal canal gently. One
simple interrupted suture
closes the incised tunica
vaginalis. The skin is
sutured. No fancy
subcuticular sutures. Keep
surgery simple. Put a
piece of plaster to cover
the wound and give the
usual antibiotics and
painkillers. Do not incise
the tunica vaginalis of
the testes as you will
have done in the
traditional neuter of a
male dog.
UPDATE ON JULY 8, 2013
No news from the owner is
good news. The dog has
recovered and the plaster
has been removed. The
owner does not want his
dog's personality to be
changed due to neuter and
had asked a lot of
questions about how the
dog's personality will be
changed after removal of
his testes.
I proposed vasectomy which
is considered neutering
will serve his purpose of
payment of a lower dog
licence of $14 instead of
$70. He had phoned to
cancel the surgery and
then appeared suddenly.
The vet should not insist
on neutering if the owner
wants vasectomy which is a
more difficult surgery.
Vets are familiar with the
neuter surgery and
vasectomy is an unfamiliar
surgical territory for
most vets. Refer to other
vets if you don't want to
do it.
TOA
PAYOH VETS
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