Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Surgical method effects on pain and wound soreness in cats after spay
By Grint, Nicola J et al.·Published in Journal of feline medicine and surgery·2006·School of Clinical Veterinary Science, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Assessment of the influence of surgical technique on postoperative pain and wound tenderness in cats following ovariohysterectomy.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of 66 cats underwent elective spaying (ovariohysterectomy) using either a flank or midline surgical approach. After surgery, the cats' pain and tenderness at the incision site were evaluated at various times. It was found that cats with flank incisions experienced significantly more tenderness compared to those with midline incisions, although overall pain levels were similar between the two groups. This suggests that the type of surgical technique can affect how tender the wound feels afterward.
People also search for: cat spaying recovery · cat surgery pain management · flank vs midline spay tenderness
Abstract
Elective ovariohysterectomy was performed on 66 cats. Surgical approach was flank (group F) or midline (group M) allocated by block randomisation. Pre-anaesthetic medication was acepromazine (0.1 mg/kg) via intramuscular injection. Anaesthesia was induced with intravenous thiopentone, and maintained with halothane in 100% oxygen. Carprofen (4 mg/kg) was administered by the subcutaneous route immediately after induction of anaesthesia. Postoperative pain and wound tenderness were assessed at 1, 3, 6, 9, 11-12 and 20-24h after the end of surgery, and the assessment outcome marked on visual analogue scales (VAS). Intervention analgesia (if pain VAS was >40 mm) was pethidine 4 mg/kg via intramuscular injection. Area under the curve (AUC) for VAS for pain and VAS for wound tenderness for each cat were calculated. AUC for wound tenderness was significantly greater for group F (P = 0.007). There was no significant difference for AUC for pain between the groups. In conclusion, wounds after flank ovariohysterectomy are significantly more tender than after midline ovariohysterectomy in the cat. This indicates that interactive methods, including wound palpation, must be used to assess postoperative pain and the findings should be appropriately weighted in the overall assessment.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16213762/