Watch video: Introduction

👋 Welcome to the Mentorship Program! 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 Neuter Surgery and Current Trends with Spays/Neuters. There is a lot of discussion occurring these days on when a pet should be spayed or neutered, or if at all and what diseases may be prevented or potentially created with the surgery.

This month, we will take a deep dive into the literature on these trending topics so your information is based on evidence, not hearsay. We will also take an in-depth look at the orchiectomy procedure itself.

This surgery tends to be less stressful than the spay, but it is still important to have a good understanding of the regional anatomy, the procedure, and its variations.

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 is packed with valuable information, it’s 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 quickly.

This is a great opportunity to ask questions, review cases, and gain further clarification on the topics covered this month.

In the downloadable resources section at the top of the page, you’ll find a surgery log template. 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!

1 Comments

Questions & Answers (1)

Tina Longtin
April 1, 2026 at 12:41 pm

Hi Dr. Brock,
I was wondering if I could ask a question about a reply you had given last month to a colleague's question about a feline neuter anesthetic protocol for a cat with a heart murmur. You had mentioned at the end: "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 at 0.01mg/kg." I do sometimes hear this in feline patients after extubation during neuter procedures, (does not occur in patients we do IM sedation for other procedures and are not intubated). I was told or assumed it may be due to the lidocaine spray upon intubation and we tell clients this should resolve within 24-48h. Should I be treating this with glycopyrrolate and is the lidocaine spray the actual reason for this??

A question for Dr. Sylvestre also: I was just looking for the spay and neuter workshop to see if I could watch the cryptorchid videos, do we still have access to this?

Thank you very much,
Tina

4 Comments
FocusandFlourish (Administrator) March 9, 2026 at 11:42 am

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.

Nancy Brock March 9, 2026 at 12:43 pm

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

Nicole Blyth March 10, 2026 at 1:12 pm

Thanku Dr Brooke thats perfect and along the lines I was thinking . Really appreciate ur help
Thanks Nicole

FocusandFlourish (Administrator) March 19, 2026 at 1:49 pm

Hey Nicole,
We had just changed our clocks too wished helps to add to the confusion. The webinar was recorded and is now on the site. You can find it on your dashboard, under webinar recordings.

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