Video Games and Surgery?

I never really played video games growing up - it was never really my thing. I had a Nintendo gaming system (yes I am old) and we would play it but nothing like what some people do nowadays. My husband has a PlayStation 4 or 5 or 20...whatever the latest model is and he does play games from time to time. He invites me to play along with him but I generally decline and go on about my housework, or reading or watching trash TV. Imagine his dismay when I came home a few months ago and said, I am learning how to do 'video game surgery'.

Now it's not really video game surgery - but it feels that way. Minimally invasive surgery is becoming more and more common in veterinary medicine. It already is commonplace in human medicine and often laparoscopic or arthroscopic procedures are done in place of more traditional open surgeries. We know that these surgeries produce less pain, have a quicker recovery and less chance of complications. As with most things, veterinary medicine has lagged behind a little but we are now seeing more and more laparoscopic procedures being performed not only by board-certified surgeons but by general practitioners, like myself.

Why do I call it video-game surgery? Because we do it with a camera placed inside the body through various port sites and use instruments internally to do our work. We do all this while watching a monitor displaying what is happening inside the dog. It feels just like playing a video game or living in virtual reality. Either way...it's super cool!

We all know that elective spay procedures help decrease the incidence of unwanted pregnancies as well as prevent future illness in our female dogs such as pyometra (life threatening uterine infection) and mammary cancer. Most people envision the traditional incision on the belly from a spay as seen here :

What most people may not realize is there is an alternative - laparoscopic ovariectomy. The terminology is a little different in that with this procedure we are only removing the ovaries - we are leaving the uterus. However studies have shown there are no disadvantages to leaving the uterus and removing only the ovaries since it is the ovaries that are producing the hormones and ovulating. Laparoscopic surgery allows us to do our procedures through small incisions that heal quickly and cause less pain. It also gives us the opportunity to evaluate the entire abdomen for any abnormalities and perform additional procedures such as a prophylactic gastropexy in large breed dogs - this is a very important preventative measure wherein we suture the stomach to the muscles of the abdomen to prevent bloating from occurring in the future. If done traditionally, a gastropexy would necessitate an incision from the breastbone all the way to the pelvis to allow enough visualization to do our spay and the gastropexy.  Compare this to the incisions below, recently done, to do the procedures listed above. 

Three nice little incisions right? And I can tell you, this dog was up and bouncing around a few hours after surgery - definitely less sore than the traditional route. I'm lucky to work at a hospital that offers this newer procedure as an alternative to the traditional route. It certainly is less painful, quicker recovery and less chance of adverse events such as infection or breakdown of the incision site. For those considering upcoming spay procedures on their dogs I encourage you to talk with your veterinarian about this option. If you live in the Charlotte area check out our hospital and see if this procedure is right for your dog. Plus, it's pretty cool to say your dog had video game surgery, right?!?