Page 8 - Winter 13

Rethinking Neutering (continued from page 3)
curative, but there is a high incidence of
complications.
• Obesity occurs in about 3% of the total
canine population, but up to 50% of
gonadectomised dogs are obese.
• Hypothyroidism increases after gonadec- tomy in some studies, and is unaffected in
others.
• Some studies show a longer lifespan for
gonadectomised dogs, others for intact dogs.
The UC Davis study also evaluated how the age of spaying/neutering altered the effects of gonadectomy in Golden Retrievers. This study found that de-sexed animals were more likely to have four cancers: osteosarcoma, hema- giosarcoma, lymphosarcoma, and mast cell tumours. Gonadectomised dogs were also at increased risk for development of hip dysplasia and anterior cruciate ligament rupture; this was true even when obesity was taken into account.
The UC Davis study also indicated that the age of gonadectomy can affect the incidence of joint problems and cancer:
• Regarding joint problems, males castrated
early (before one year of age) developed hip dysplasia at a younger age and more often, and dogs of either sex de-sexed early devel- oped anterior cruciate ligament tears at a younger age and more often. Intact animals had the lowest incidence of joint problems.
• Regarding cancers, lymphosarcoma was more common in males castrated after one year of age. Hemangiosarcoma and mast cell tumours were diagnosed more often in females spayed after one year of age, and they developed these cancers at a younger age. Intact animals had the lowest inci- dence of these cancers.
Now I had a real quandary. Obviously, gonads do good things for dogs, aside from their repro- ductive function, and neutering later in life was not the answer. Dogs need the reproductive organs as an outlet for the sycotic miasm, or bad things are more likely to happen. Around the time I was reading the Kustritz reviews, I had my first personal castration dilemma. (OK, ‘personal castration dilemma’ looks really weird, but that’s what it was.)
My Bernese Mountain Dog bitch rolled on the smallest of her pups and damaged his hip and shoulder joint on one side. The pup (Ffeifyr) was active and healthy but the orthopedic sur- geon and I agreed that he needed normal hor- monal influences, at least until he attained full adult size at two or more years of age. I did not want an intact chappie around my girls and I did not want him to leave my home with the ability to sire pups. A local repro vet performed a vasectomy on Ffeifyr when he was about eight months old. This surgery is a bit fiddly, as the vasa deferentia must be isolated and a section of each must be removed to ensure sterility. Ffei
recovered from the surgery more quickly than dogs do from routine castration. This pup is now over two and a half years old and is living with a young woman who adores him; although she is not a drill sergeant by any means, she has no trouble with problem male behaviours. Ffeifyr has a bit of a hitch to his gait, but no evi- dence of pain in either his shoulder or hip.
My personal spay dilemma occurred over a year later. My five-year-old BMD bitch, Rubiy, whelped a lovely litter at three years of age. When the pups were a year old, she was back in training for her obedience Utility title. We were celebrating her first UD “leg” by running on some hills; when she lost sight of my son, she made a spectacular vertical leap with a full twist to scan for him. This resulted in a trau- matic gastric torsion (really uncommon but it doesn’t make us feel special), which required emergency surgery. She needed transfusions and had a severe transfusion reaction, which led to chronic hepatitis. She now looks and acts completely normal, thanks to homeopathic pre- scribing and supplements. However, her liver enzymes were in the scary realm for quite some time and ultrasound and biopsy indicated chronic active hepatitis. I decided that I wouldn’t breed her again. I didn’t want her to lose the beneficial effects of her sex hormones, but I also didn’t want to run the risk of pyometra in a dog with compromised liver function. On a personal note, during this same time my own ovarian function was decreasing, and it was not a particularly jolly experience. We don’t know if spayed bitches experience hot flushes like menopausal women, but the other physiologi- cal changes, such as changes in metabolism, are seen in spayed bitches. This cemented my resolve to not remove Ru’s ovaries, as I wouldn’t wish menopause on a dog.
My solution for Rubiy was the ovary-sparing spay, pioneered by Dr. Kutzler of Oregon State. There is a video of the procedure on the Parsemus Foundation website: http://www.parse- musfoundation.org/
It has been years since I have performed abdominal surgery; I am a holistic vet within a conventional practice. The practice owner is a good friend, and she was willing to do the pro- cedure. The ovary sparing spay is not much more difficult than a traditional spay and any good surgeon with interest in the procedure could perform it. The ovaries are left in place and the entire uterus and cervix are removed, creating a slightly longer and lower midline inci- sion than is the norm in the US. I understand that flank spays are more common in the UK, and I am not sure if this procedure could be easily performed via that approach. It is absolutely essential to remove the cervix, as the ovaries will still be producing progesterone, which would cause hypertrophy of any bit of uterus that is left, possibly leading to a pyometra.
Rubiy recovered beautifully from the procedure and now five months on, she has had a heat cycle. It was hard to tell she was having one, as there was no discharge. She did act more lovey, wanted to mount and mark more, and flagged for a short period. I am so happy that I chose this option for her and I now suggest it for all non-breeding bitches, if the owners need to have them sterilized.
It can be hard to find vets who are willing to perform an ovary-sparing spay. I wasn’t intend- ing to impose upon my friend to perform Rubiy’s ovary sparing spay, as there are surgical spe- cialists where Ru’s internal medicine specialist practices. These vets wouldn’t even consider performing it. They would do an ovariectomy, which is entirely the wrong way around, remov- ing the source of protective hormones. The spe- cialists’ professed fear was that Rubiy could develop a pyometra of an uterine remnant. Every vet knows that there is no way you can leave any uterus in, provided that you remove the cervix and the Fallopian tubes. Any compe- tent vet can tell the difference between ovaries, Fallopian tubes, uterus, cervix, and vagina, and remove the tract in the proper place. I think it is more likely that the surgical specialists didn’t want to be bothered to go outside their comfort zone and do something different.
I think it is probably ideal, for the animal’s health, to not sterilize animals at all. We don’t know if stopping the flow of sperm in a dog’s body, or removing the feedback effects of the uterus on the ovaries could have deleterious effects. I would not have sterilized these two dogs by any method, if I did not have the con- cerns that I described. However, I believe that, based on the research evidence, it is preferable for animals to retain their gonads, if they must be sterilized.
An issue which I would like to see discussed is the prevalence of abnormal adrenal gland func- tion in neutered and intact animals. I have not seen intact dogs with either hypo- or hyper- adrenocorticism; however, I see relatively few intact animals. As the adrenal gland, in the absence of the gonads, must produce all steroids for the body, it is likely this could lead to some physiologic imbalance.
From a population control standpoint, rescue groups and shelters are going to continue to require sterilization. Vasectomy and ovary spar- ing spay, as alternatives to conventional gonadectomy/de-sexing procedures, allow ani- mals to retain most of their normal hormonal influences. From a homeopathic viewpoint, this keeps the sycotic miasm in its spiritual home; from a conventional viewpoint it sterilizes, yet avoids the reported negative effects of gonadectomy. I would be very interested to hear what other homeopathic vets think of this situation.
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