2007-08: Project One
Does one spaying procedure lead to post-spay urinary incontinence in dogs?
Drs. Kathleen Linn, Régine Bélanger and Cindy Shmon
Up to 20 per cent of spayed female dogs develop urethral sphincter mechanism incompetence (USMI) after female neutering surgery. While the underlying cause of this long-term complication is still unknown, some clinicians suspect that traction on the uterus during an ovariohysterectomy (removal of the ovaries and uterus) might injure the nerves to the urethral sphincter.
During the next 12 months, a WCVM research team will use two female neutering techniques on 30 canine patients admitted to the College’s Veterinary Teaching Hospitals for elective spays. Half of the dogs will undergo an ovariohysterectomy — the surgical procedure taught to North American veterinary students. The second group of dogs will undergo an ovariectomy (removal of the ovaries) — the procedure taught to European veterinary students.
Before all of the surgeries, the research team will measure each patient’s maximal urethral closure pressure (MUCP). Clinicians consider this measurement the most important parameter in evaluating urinary incontinence. Twelve months later, researchers will repeat the MUCP measurement during each dog’s checkup. Once all of the study’s results are evaluated, the research team will determine whether a particular spaying procedure does cause an increase in the incidence of post-spay urinary incontinence among female dogs.
