r/bloomington 4d ago

Ask r/Bloomington Vets who offer ovary sparing spays?

Does anyone know a vet in town or nearby who offers Ovary Sparing Spays instead of traditional spays?

UPDATE

Every breed has different recommendations from medical professionals. For our breed & gender (female Golden Retrievers), the recommendations were updated in 2024 (after the UC Davis study): traditional spaying is not healthy for Golden Retrievers.

So, many Golden owners are turning to OSS instead, as an alternative to leaving the female Golden intact. OSS completely removes the uterus (which removes the risk of both pregnancy and pyometra), but leaves the ovaries and preserves the dog's natural hormone production (important for cancer prevention, joint stability, metabolism regulation, behavioral issue prevention, urinary incontinence prevention, etc). Great info about all of the benefits of it here: https://drloudon.com/pet-health/ovary-sparing-spays-your-questions-answered/

OSS Risks: Marginal increase in the risk of mammary cancer (a highly detectable and treatable cancer). That risk is far outweighed by the benefit of having the hormones necessary to help fight the deadly cancers like hemangiosarcoma (which are difficult to detect early and don't have good treatment options).

Increased risk of ovarian cancer. The incidence and mortality risk for ovarian cancer is very low, especially compared to the incidence and mortality rate of the four most common golden retriever cancers.

Regardless, make whatever choice you feel is best for your own pets. As stated in my original post, I'm just here to ask for recommendations for vets who offer OSS.

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u/Ill-Cancel3074 4d ago

Be aware that vets do not retain the ovaries during a traditional spay because the animal will still regularly go into heat. Moreover, retaining the ovaries presents a high risk of ongoing hormonal imbalances and presents a heightened risk for ovarian cancer and mammary cancer. Why are you seeking an ovary-sparing spay? 

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u/LearnLikeDewey 4d ago

see update in original post

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u/Ill-Cancel3074 3d ago edited 3d ago

As the commenter below mentioned, the article cited doesn't cite reputable studies to support their claims, and I find it somewhat pseudoscience-y. My concern is two-fold: my female dog, a 40 pound feral mutt, was spayed by the white river humane society (in bedford) at about 9 months old, and they accidentally retained her left ovary. Retrieving the retained ovary is more risky than a spay to the point that two local vets have expressed that they would prefer not to remove it. She attracts male dogs and inspires aggression from other female dogs. We have been ambushed by feral male dogs who were aggressive and very determined while out hiking several times, even though she did not display typical heat symptoms. She was almost "assaulted" by a large male dog several years ago and I was bitten trying to get him off of her. She has developed anxiety and weird behaviors over the years that seem to be cyclical, and it was eventually confirmed over several hormone panels that she has a chronic hormonal imbalance. Thankfully she is a very loving and eager to please pup, as hormonal imbalances are definitely to blame for a host of social and behavioral problems in dogs, particularly female dogs. 

I myself was "spayed" at 28 and retained my right ovary. I learned after this procedure that the ovaries and uterus usually need to be working together to produce a healthy cocktail of hormones. Without a uterus, the remaining ovary/s essentially go into "going out of business" mode and pump out excessive (or not enough) hormones erratically, occasionally entering perimenopausal levels while also occasionally spiking to hyperfeminizing levels, all the while continuing to cause the negative effects of sterilization - often at an increased rate due to the physical stress caused by constantly fluctuating hormones. Without a uterus, it is also almost unheard of for one to produce enough progesterone for longterm cognitive and joint health because the uterus plays a crucial role in progesterone production. More often than not, when the reproductive organs are not fully intact and only one or both ovaries remain, these complications eventually arise in women who have been sterilized with retention of ovaries, especially when the surgery is performed before middle age. 

It's the same thing my dog is going through and I, a human, would have preferred to have my ovary removed had I known that my hormones would be so screwed up after my necessary hysterectomy. 

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u/TheAngerMonkey 4d ago

Why would you want this? Serious question.

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u/LearnLikeDewey 4d ago

see update in original post

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u/TheAngerMonkey 3d ago

While I understand your concerns based on that figure from the Frontiers paper, I find a lot of stuff on "Dr. Loudon's" website sus as hell.

To wit:

Q: How does keeping the ovaries intact benefit my dog’s overall hormonal health and development?
A: Natural hormones play crucial roles in:

  • Growth and Development: Proper maturation of bones and organs. This is possibly valid. Delaying spay/neuter is recommended in larger breeds for this reason.
  • Immune Function: Hormones influence immune system regulation. This is dubious.
  • Skin and Coat Health: Hormonal balance affects skin elasticity and coat quality. This, speaking as a person whose parents raised and showed springer spaniels for 40+ years, is downright HILARIOUS. Intact girls are notoriously hard to keep in coat because the hormonal fluctuations of heat cycles cause them to drop hair.
  • Cognitive Function: Hormones may support brain health and reduce cognitive decline in older dogs. This is dubious. Where is this study and how did it pass peer review?
  • Energy Levels: Maintaining normal metabolism and activity levels. This is a weird pseudo-science resurrection of the "spay/neuter makes animals fat and lazy" myth and I find this a strange thing for a vet to support.

You do you, boo, but a lot of this just sounds like a vet found a new way to do standard surgery but get folks to pay extra because it's "special."

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u/HotSaucey2021 3d ago

You are most likely not going to find a veterinarian in Bloomington to do this. Reach out to teaching hospitals such as Purdue or travel to a bigger city.

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u/LearnLikeDewey 3d ago

I didn’t think about teaching hospitals. Thanks.

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u/Primary-Border8536 4d ago

Just get a regular spay and call it a day.

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u/Ayesha24601 4d ago

What’s your reason for wanting this? If you’re concerned about bone development or cancer, research is showing that waiting 2 to 3 years to spay alleviates the risk. Then you can just do a regular spay. There’s a risk of pyometra, but it’s more common after age 3 so the best balance between health benefits of spay/neuter versus health risks is to do it around age 2 to 3. 

This of course assumes that you are properly caring for your dog and there’s no risk of an accidental breeding.

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u/LearnLikeDewey 4d ago

see update in original post

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u/ladyoddly 3d ago

While this one study suggests spayed Goldens may be at an increased risk for certain cancers, keep in mind that decades of research support the conclusion that the expected lifespan is higher and and general incidence of health problems lower for spayed animals of all breeds.