RM200 vs RM500 Spay: The Difference, Part 1

What is a Spay and what does it involve?

A spay is considered a routine abdominal surgery to remove the female reproductive organs. During the surgery, a small incision is made to remove the ovaries and uterus. A spay is also commonly referred to as an ovariohysterectomy. Getting your pet spayed helps prevent roaming, diseases and unwanted litters. This in turn saves you money which is always helpful.

 
Here is a common scenario a lot of people are often faced with.

You are trying to be a good Samaritan by catching that stray dog and getting her desexed because you have noticed this is her 3^rd litter of puppies. It breaks your heart to see some of the puppies get run over by cars and you want to make sure this stops happening. So you call a few different vet clinics to see what they can do to help you. Most of them will be uninformative or tell you what their price is without a breakdown of cost. You will probably choose the cheaper option because it seems like a better deal. So, why does the same procedure cost RM 500 instead of RM 200 in different clinics?

 
The RM 500 Spay

In Part 1 of this article, we’ll first explore the RM 500 Spay.

It starts with your phone call to enquire about a desexing. The receptionist is friendly and informative. She asks you how old your dog is, what gender and whether she is up to date with her vaccinations. You tell her the story about the stray dog you would like to help. She then informs you that the clinic often helps welfare groups and advocates desexing so she will try to give you the best possible price. She explains that the clinic prefers to offer each client the best possible options for their pets but ultimately it is up to you to choose what and how you would like things to get done. She informs you that there will be a form to fill in when you come in tomorrow for the procedure and that you need to remove all access to food only from 8pm the night before.

When you come in, you and the dog are nicely greeted by the receptionist. You are given a form to fill in while she checks your dog over. She checks her teeth, ears, eyes, stomach, feet and pats her all over. This is an important step when taking in an animal for a general anaesthetic (GA). Although GA are safe, they are expensive and the last thing an owner wants is to be told 1 week after the spay that their dog needs their teeth cleaned. Ideally, you want to get everything safely done in one GA.

The receptionist tells you that, the dog has a broken tooth which hurts and is infected and that she has back dew claws. She also mentions that the dog has an umbilical hernia that will be fixed during the spay. You also noticed in the form that there is option for a blood test and you ask the receptionist to explain it to you. You choose to fix the tooth but not remove dew claws. She spends the next 5 minutes telling you the pros and cons of the blood test. You hand the dog over to the nice lady and ask her what time should you come back. She says she will give you a call as soon as the dog is awake.

At the clinic, the dog is examined again by a vet and given a thorough health exam to make sure she is fit for a GA. She is then weighed and given an appropriate dose of pain relief and a mild sedative. She is then placed in a hospital cage and given some time alone to allow the drugs to take effect. Once she seems relaxed, she is taken out and a catheter is placed in her cephalic vein. This gives quick access to the blood stream for administration of IV fluids, GA drugs and any emergency drugs if needed. The GA drugs are given via the catheter and then a tube is placed down her throat to allow an airway for the gas anesthetics to keep her asleep during the surgery.

During the surgery the dog’s heart rate, breaths per minutes, oxygen intake, carbon dioxide concentrations in her blood, temperature and blood pressure are constantly being monitored. The vet performs the surgery in 15 minutes and starts to close her up. The vet uses a suture material that is strong but will be dissolved by the body as the time passes. All the stitches are hidden under the skin so there is no way the dog can lick her stitches and you don�t have to bring her back to get the stitches removed.

The dog is then woken up on pure oxygen gas and allowed to sleep off the rest of the GA in a quiet dark environment. When she wakes up, she is given more pain relief, water and food. You receive a call from the receptionist to inform you of what has occurred. You then book an appointment to pick up the dog. When you come to pick up the dog, the vet comes out and explains what he did, what medications and pain relief is required and how to care for the dog for the next few days. The dog is then presented to you and she is delighted to see you. She seems to be her normal self and shows no signs of discomfort.

Useful Resources:
http://pawprintstouchingmyheart.com/2012/02/dog-spaying-procedure-step-4.html
http://www.pawprintstouchingmyheart.com/2012/02/dog-spaying-after-care.html

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Isabel Ling

I graduated from University of Queensland in 2008 with a degree in Veterinary Science. I went on to work in a busy small animal clinic where I learnt to treat all kinds of ailments. I recently came back to Malaysia to have my first child and am planning open my own clinic in KL soon.

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