Spaying - keyhole or standard?

[frozenmad]

The difference in cost at my vets is £200. Is it worth paying the extra? My Vets have said both standard & keyhole spaying require the pupster to have on lead walks for 10 days. Interested to hear your experiences. TIA .

I'd go keyhole.
Our old dog was spayed in the normal manner. Discovered her the next morning with a massive and I mean massive open wound. She'd pulled out all the stitches and ripped more. God love her.
Emergency vet stapled it. Without anaesthetic. Was horrific, but very fast to be fair to the vet.

I don't mean the dog was old when she was spayed.
I mean she has since passed and we have another one.
Sorry.

Oh my goodness, that sounds awful!

To be fair Three, that is an incredible rare occurrence. We spay bitches every day and I've never seen one remove all of its stitches in over a decade of practice. We do occasionally see wound problems in those dogs whose owners have struggled to follow instructions re management but honestly it's rare to see them do more than lick a few stitches excessively. I don't think your story is really evidence for or against keyhole methods.

I think keyhole has a place and recovery is likely to be quicker, but I also have reservations. I'm not sure we have a lot of evidence comparing the usual midline approach with keyhole methods.

Rare it may be. But OP asked for experiences, and I shared mine.

I had my bitch spayed the normal way and to be honest I don't really see the benefit of keyhole spaying and I see it on a regular basis. You have to keep them quiet regardless and they are still sore after keyhole surgery due to the carbon dioxide they use to inflate the abdomen. I would say it's down to personal preference.

There can be complications with either surgery - has your vet talked you through the pros and cons? Routine spats are very common and quick procedures and problems are rare - don't let an extreme horror story scare you!
Insufflation of the abdomen is uncomfortable for keyhole and recovery times are similar

I have just had my second border terrier bitch spayed. Neither were keyhole, and have been left with very faint scars which are not noticeable under their hair. Recovery was just over a week before able to be off lead, and no problem with either of them bothering their stitches.
I don't see that it would be worth paying extra for keyhole.

Thanks very much for your comments. I wasn't aware that there were issues with the abdomen involved in keyhole. I'll have to research more but think we'll go for standard. £200 buys a lot of dog toys & bones!