I've heard that there's a new less-invasive way to spay cats via laser surgery. Has anyone done this and have more information on it? Any vet recommendations, prices, pros/cons?
2007-06-25 10:18:10 · 6 answers · asked by Julie 1 in Pets ➔ Cats
On Sunday I was volunteering at a Spay Day and had a conversation with a vet about this very thing. His opinion was that laser surgery is great...sometimes. It's great for optic surgeries. However, for surgeries such as spays, neuters, and declaws it's no better than traditional methods. Lasers cauterize (burn) the tissue so there's less bleeding initially. However, wounds need blood supply to heal properly and burning the tissue kills it and decreases blood supply. This prolongs healing time and can lead to a greater incidence of complications. Laser surgeries also take significantly longer to perform unless the vet has a whole lot of experience with them. That means greater anesthesia time for the cat which also increases chances of complications.
We also discussed flank spays. With flank spays, an incision is made in the cat's side. This decreases healing time because the cat doesn't have all the weight of abdominal organs pressing on the incision like they do with a normal spay. If the vet knows how to perform it properly it's only supposed to take 5-10 minutes (much less time than traditional or laser spaying). If you're interested in a new, less-invasive way to spay cats it seems like flank incision spays are the way to go, however, I don't think a lot of vets have training using that technique yet.
2007-06-25 13:02:47 · answer #1 · answered by KM 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Not that new. The 'laser' part of the spaying is simply a means of cutting instead of using a scalpel - the laser cauterises as it cuts so there is less bleeding - but then there is very little bleeding during a regular cat spay anyway, even if they're in heat.
We'd need to know what country/area you're in before anyone can recommend a vets. I say, just ring around vets and ask if they do laser spaying, or if they know of anyone that does. I wouldn't bother with it personally, I don't think the pros are worth the extra money.
Chalice
2007-06-25 11:35:00 · answer #2 · answered by Chalice 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Call around and see if there's a vet in your area that does it. You can do any surgery with a laser, but the equipment is VERY expensive, so the surgeries do cost more. There is less bleeding, less pain, and a faster recovery with laser surgery as compared to scalpel surgery. You do still cut them open, go into the abdomen, and remove the uterus, it's not like "star trek" where you just wave a wand over them, so it's not any less invasive, you are just cutting with a laser beam instead of a scalpel blade. But the laser stops bleeding instantly and "cauterizes" the nerve endings, so there is less pain, bleeding, and swelling. The laser also sterilizes everything it touches, so lower risk of infection.
2007-06-25 10:33:10 · answer #3 · answered by lizzy 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Call the vet's office, tell them what days you have available & let them decide. They may ask you to bring in the cat a few days early. Most vets do suture removal about 10 days post surgery.
2016-05-20 01:32:48 · answer #4 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yeah I've heard of that for dogs, since we just got a new puppy (YAYYYY puppy >_<) and I would think it would be quicker and safer, because it wouldn't be cutting them open and since usually you get it done when thye're a kitten and kittens are generally hyper, the stitches wouldn't split and it would be safer on their part. Hope it helps and good luck! ^_^
2007-06-25 10:28:37 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Its a bit more expensive and its heals a little bit quicker. To be honest there is not much of a huge difference.
2007-06-25 10:21:59 · answer #6 · answered by Mike L 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋