Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Does spaying or neutering affect pain after dog knee surgery
By Karamichali, Panagiota et al.·Published in Veterinary anaesthesia and analgesia·2023·Companion Animal Clinic·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Effect of gonadectomy on pain assessment in dogs undergoing orthopaedic stifle surgery.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 74 dogs undergoing knee surgery were studied to see how their neutering status (whether they were spayed or neutered) affected their pain levels after the procedure. The results showed that both spayed females and neutered males experienced more pain compared to their intact counterparts. This suggests that neutering may influence how dogs perceive pain, which is important for veterinarians to consider when creating pain management plans for surgery. The findings highlight the need for tailored approaches to anesthesia and pain relief based on whether a dog is neutered or intact.
People also search for: dog knee surgery pain management · neutering effects on dog pain · post-surgery pain in dogs
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To compare pain perception between gonadectomized and intact dogs. STUDY DESIGN: Blinded, prospective, cohort study. ANIMALS: A group of 74 client-owned dogs. METHODS: Dogs were divided into four groups: group 1-female/neutered (F/N), group 2-female/intact (F/I), group 3-male/neutered (M/N) and group 4-male/intact (M/I). Premedication consisted of intramuscularly administered acepromazine (0.05 mg kg) and morphine (0.2 mg kg), and subcutaneously administered carprofen (4 mg kg). Anaesthesia was induced with propofol (1 mg kgintravenously and supplementary doses to effect) and maintained with isoflurane in 100% oxygen. Intraoperative analgesia was achieved with fentanyl infusion (0.1 μg kgminute). Pain assessments [using the University of Melbourne Pain Scale (UMPS) and an algometer at the incision site (IS), parallel to the incision site (NIS), and on the contralateral healthy limb] were performed preoperatively, and at 1, 2, 4, 6, 9 and 20 hours after extubation. The time-standardised area under the curve (AUCst) for measurements was calculated and compared by performing a one-way multivariate analysis of variance (manova). Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. RESULTS: Postoperatively, F/N exhibited higher pain than F/I, with estimated marginal means (95% confidence intervals) AUCstIS909 (672-1146) versus AUCstIS1385 (1094-1675) (p = 0.014), AUCstNIS1122 (823-1420) versus AUCstNIS1668 (1302-2033) (p = 0.024) and AUCstUMPS5.30 (4.58-6.02) versus AUCstUMPS4.1 (3.2-5.0) (p = 0.041). Similarly, M/N showed higher pain than M/I with AUCstIS686 (384-987) versus AUCstIS1107 (871-1345) (p = 0.031) and AUCstNIS856 (476-1235) versus AUCstNIS1407 (1109-1706) (p = 0.026), and AUCstUMPS6.0 (5.1-6.9) versus AUCstUMPS4.4 (3.7-5.2) (p = 0.008). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Gonadectomy affects pain sensitivity in dogs undergoing stifle surgery. Neutering status should be taken into consideration when planning individualized anaesthetic/analgesic protocols.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37295978/