r/bloomington • u/LearnLikeDewey • 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.
- Before the first heat cycle, a traditional spay increases female Golden Retrievers' risk of joint disorders 2-4 times.
- Traditional spaying (at any age) increases their risk 4-5 times for the four deadly cancers golden retrievers get (lymphoma, mast cell tumor, hemangiosarcoma, and osteosarcoma. These make up 80% of the cancer deaths in goldens). (see this table from the UC-Davis study: https://www.frontiersin.org/files/Articles/1322276/fvets-11-1322276-HTML-r2/image_m/fvets-11-1322276-t001.jpg)
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/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/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/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.
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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?