Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Pain and wound healing after flank vs midline spay in cats
By Swaffield, Matthew J et al.·Published in Journal of feline medicine and surgery·2020·Beaumont Sainsbury Animal Hospital, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Prospective comparison of perioperative wound and pain score parameters in cats undergoing flank vs midline ovariectomy.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of healthy cats undergoing routine spaying (ovariectomy) were divided into two groups to compare pain and wound healing after surgery: one group had the procedure through the flank, and the other through the midline of the abdomen. Cats that had the flank surgery experienced more pain immediately after and at discharge compared to those with the midline approach. However, the midline group showed more swelling at discharge and during follow-up visits. Overall, both surgical methods were safe, with no infections or wound breakdowns reported.
People also search for: cat spay surgery pain · cat ovariectomy recovery · flank vs midline spay cat
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to prospectively compare perioperative pain score and wound parameters, inclusive of postoperative swelling and erythema, between flank and midline ovariectomy (OVE) in cats, performed by final-year veterinary students. METHODS: Healthy cats presented for routine OVE were randomly assigned to either the midline or flank group after owner consent to participate in the study. Perioperative protocols were standardised for both groups. Clinical data were collected prior to surgery, intraoperatively, at 1 h postoperatively, at the time of discharge, and at 3 and 10 day postoperative re-examination appointments. Data recorded included duration of surgery and anaesthesia, intraoperative complications, Feline Acute Pain Scale (FAPS) scores, a simple descriptive scale of reaction to wound palpation (SDS), a dynamic and interactive visual analogue scale assessment of pain (DIVAS), and both a simple descriptive scale (SDS) and a visual analogue scale (VAS) of surgical wound swelling. RESULTS: Thirty-eight cats received a flank OVE and 37 received a midline OVE. Duration of surgery, duration of anaesthesia and intraoperative complications did not vary significantly between the two groups. Cats in both groups had significantly higher FAPS scores after surgery (= 0.0002), with cats receiving a flank OVE having significantly higher pain scores compared with a midline OVE at 1 h postoperatively (= 0.0004) and at discharge (= 0.002). Swelling of the surgical wound (SDS) was significantly higher in cats receiving a midline OVE at the time of discharge (= 0.048), as well as at the 3 day (<0.0001) and 10 day (= 0.001) postoperative re-examinations. FAPS scores were significantly higher in cats receiving a midline OVE at the 3 day (= 0.016) and 10 day re-examinations (= 0.045). No cats in either group suffered a wound breakdown or infection. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Our study does not support advocating a preferred surgical approach for feline OVE within a teaching environment.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30950672/