Dropped pedicle
👋 Welcome to the Mentorship Program for the Inexperienced Surgeon
We’re so glad you’re here! This program is designed to help you grow your surgical skills and confidence, one step at a time.
Each month covers a new topic with a suggested schedule to guide you . This month’s topic is The Spay Surgery.
This surgery is a great teaching tool as it familiarizes you with working within the abdomen and the ventral midline approach. We have created a viewing order and timeline for you but feel free to move at your own pace. The first video in the menu is the longest one and it is packed full of information. It is an excellent starting point.
As you work through the material, please post any comments or questions below. We’re monitoring this space and will do our best to respond here but if not, for sure we will address the question during the webinar.
Be sure to note the date of this month’s live Q&A webinar, also listed in the menu. It’s a great chance to ask questions, review cases, and clarify anything that comes up during the month.
In the downloadable resources section at the top of the page, you’ll find a surgery log template there. We strongly encourage you to use it, especially to track your spay surgeries. It’s a valuable teaching tool that helps reinforce learning and monitor progress.
Let’s get started!
Watch video: Introduction (3)
Thanku Dr Brooke thats perfect and along the lines I was thinking . Really appreciate ur help
Thanks Nicole
Post/Query From Nicole Blyth
March 5, 2026 at 11:44 am
Hi could I have some drug help please I have a 6mth cat to catrate next week with a heart murmur grade 2 out of 6 left sided normal rate no clinical signs of HF. Im thinking probably torb and alfaxan i/m may be the safest option but what r ur thoughts please. The owner has declined an echo. Our usual protocol for cat castrate is quad of ketamine, medetomidine, midazolam and bup but don't want domitor really.
Here are some general recommendations assuming that 1) chest x rays don't show enlarged pulmonary veins, 2) has normal cardiac silhouette and 3) has no history of exercise intolerance or open mouth breathing during exercise:
Oral gabapentin sufficient to cause compliance and lack of reactivity when handled anywhere from 100 to 200 mg at least two hours prior to admission
IM butorphanol + alfaxalone
place IV catheter
induce with additional IV alfaxalone
Intubate
place on oxygen
local lidocaine testicular blocks bilaterally
turn iso on if needed but probably won't given how short the procedure is
listen carefully for upper respiratory noises such as gurgling both before and also in the half hour or so after extubation and treat with IM glycopyrrolate 0.01 mg/kg
NB
Hi Nicole
Wow there's something about you and Spaniels! This uterine stump I have also seen a few times through out my career; a few were my own and others were cases that vets called me about. All just resolved with TLC. I only had the luxury of having one patient have an ultrasound and she too had a swollen uterine (which we do not routinely ultra sound so it is a bit hard to know how much of that swelling is excessive vs normal). I have heard about the ulcerated uterine artery but I suspect whatever is going is just secondary to surgical technique and likely something we will never really identify as they resolve (so no post-mortem or second surgery). I would be curious to know what was seen not he repeat scan.
I will say that I am glad to hear that the January case had a bleeding disorder as this allows us to understand what happened. I still would not be doing a clotting profile on every case as these types are so rare but they are scary. I would say that if the clotting could have been identified before the second surgery, that would have been nice but often, timing is not in our favor when it comes to these sort of complications.
Questions & Answers (3)
Thanks Dr sylvestre
, the dogs bleeding has resolved now I think actually it probably has a stump granuloma as the surgeon still uses cat gut. ( I am fully away from cat gut now thanks to ur help )
Thanku for ur inside info its really good to talk about these cases to help understanding.
Incidentally I scan every post op spey complication and they do not routinely have swelling of the stumps only seen in stump granuloma, bleed ie clot there and stump pyo.
The interesting thing about my prev clotting disorder dog is clotting profile was normal, but had hyperfibrinolysis like u see in greyhounds.
Thanku I love talking these things thru
Thanku both for the talk last night it was very useful!
Just a question for Dr sylvestre, post dog spay complication ( ps the bleeding bitch I talked about in Jan bloods finally came back with a clotting disorder !)
Different one today , still a spaniel eek! spayed by incredibly experienced collegue last week, bleeding from vulva a lot overnight today. Was very friable at surgery. Dog well. No free fluid in abdomen. Cervical stump swollen on scan 2cm, no obvious haematoma but can't fully rule out. Pcv normal, platelets normal. Started abx and tranexamic acid, have read about uterine artery ulceration, never b4 knowingly seen that.
Its Having check up, rpt pcv and scan tomorrow. Any thoughts? I have seen a couple like this over the years that just resolved but never really knew what it was? Thanks
Hi could I have some drug help please I have a 6mth cat to catrate next week with a heart murmur grade 2 out of 6 left sided normal rate no clinical signs of HF. Im thinking probably torb and alfaxan i/m may be the safest option but what r ur thoughts please. The owner has declined an echo. Our usual protocol for cat castrate is quad of ketamine, medetomidine, midazolam and bup but don't want domitor really. Thanks
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