Acres Animal Hospital: Bear's Neuter (Orchiectomy)

Warning: The following contains graphic images and may not be suitable for all readers

Bear is a young male Shih-tzu who has been brought to Acres Animal Hospital to be neutered. The neutering operation is called an orchiectomy, meaning removal of the testicles.

There are lots of good reasons for a dog to be neutered, including:

Preventing accidental and unwanted litters of puppies who often end up in overcrowded shelters, euthanised, or suffering as homeless uncared-for strays

Reduced roaming or running away
Reduced marking or urinating in the house
Reduced sexual behaviour (humping) towards people's legs, other pets, or inanimate objects
Reduced incidence of many health problems, including testicular cancer, conditions of the prostate gland, certain hernias, infections of the genital tract, and others
Reduced aggression towards other dogs or people
Increased attentiveness to owners and ease of training
Studies show that neutered animals live longer than non-neutered ones

Bear's owners dropped him off at Acres at 8:00 in the morning, after making sure he hadn't had anything to eat for at least 6-8 hours, and nothing to drink for 2-3 hours. This is done to prevent him from regurgitating during surgery and possibly breathing in stomach contents which could cause a dangerous lung infection.

First, Doctor Lee has to perform a thorough physical examination. If there are any signs of health problems, we may need to choose different anaesthetic medications, pain control, antibiotics, or even postpone the surgery.

Then, after Dr. Lee has ensured that Bear appears totally healthy, pre-anaesthetic bloodwork will be done to make sure there's no evidence of hidden medical conditions which might not be detectable by physical exam. This is one of many things done to keep anaesthesia and surgery as safe as possible.

Blood is drawn from Bear's back leg, from a vein called the lateral saphenous.

This blood sample is fed into our analyser which gives us a breakdown of Bear's red and white blood cell levels, electrolytes, blood sugar, and other markers and enzymes of the liver and kidneys.

After seeing nothing to concern us on the bloodwork, Bear is given an injection of mild sedatives to keep him calm and worry-free while we place an intravenous catheter (a small plastic tube going into a vein) in his front leg. Later, we'll inject anaesthetic medications through this, and fluids to keep him hydrated during surgery.

Lynne monitors him and puts in eyedrops, because dogs don't blink as much when they're sedated or anaesthetized and it's not good to let their eyes get dried out.

Bear is pretty sleepy now, and doesn't respond to noises around him.

The fur is clipped from Bear's lower belly, and his skin is scrubbed with special disinfectants to help prevent infection during surgery.

An injectable anaesthetic is given through Bear's IV, and he becomes fully anaesthetised within a minute or two.

Now that Bear is anaesthetised, Dr. Lee will perform an endotracheal intubation, which means she'll place a tube down his trachea (windpipe) to keep his airway open, to breathe for him if needed, and to deliver gas anaesthetic until his surgery has been completed.

Next, Bear will be moved into the surgery area and final preparations for his neuter can begin.

Bear will be connected to monitoring equipment for the duration of his surgery which will track his:

Heart rate
Blood pressure
Respiratory rate
Blood oxygen level
Carbon dioxide level in his breath
Electrocardiogram (ECG)

...and a member of the team will be on hand to monitor him closely throughout the operation so Dr. Lee can devote her full attention to performing his surgery.

Now Dr. Lee will perform a thorough sterile scrub of her hands.

And put on her surgical gown and gloves.

And prepare her surgical instruments.

Now Bear will be draped.

And surgery will begin.

One testicle will be gently pushed forward, under the skin, from the scrotum into the sterile draped area. Then Dr. Lee will make an incision in the skin and bring the testicle to the outside, where the blood vessels and other attachments will be clamped, tied off, and cut.

Now the procedure will be repeated on the other testicle.

After the testicles have been removed, Dr. Lee will sew the tissues under the skin back together.

And then the skin is closed.

The surgery is now complete, so the anaesthetic gas will be turned off and, when Bear is starting to wake up, the tube will be removed from his trachea (windpipe).

Now Dr. Lee will use a special syringe and needle to place a microchip, about the size of a grain of rice, under the skin between Bear's shoulder blades. This microchip doesn't contain any information about Bear or his owners, only a unique serial number. If he ever becomes lost, the staff at any Veterinary clinic or shelter will be able to scan his microchip and find his unique number. They can use this number, with the help of the microchip company, to find contact information for his owners and get him home again.