The surgical patient is placed under general anesthesia and secured to the surgery table on her back (dorsal recumbency). The hair on her abdomen is shaved from her umbilicus or belly button (red arrow) to her vulva. The surgical area is cleaned multiple times with two different disinfectants. The blue line indicates where her skin incision will be made.
Two layers of sterile surgical drapes are placed around the surgery site. The red arrow indicates the umbilicus and the blue arrow indicates the surgical incision site.
An incision is made through the patient's skin just below the umbilicus. The fat beneath the skin is trimmed away to expose the muscular body wall. The junction of the muscles from the left and right sides of the body along the ventral midline is known as the linea alba or white line. The incision through the body wall is made through the linea alba.
The left ovary (black arrow) and horn of the uterus (blue arrow) are retrieved from the body by detaching the suspensory ligament which attches the ovary to a point near the left kidney. The horn of the uterus is attached to a sheet of connective tissue known as the broad ligament (green arrow).
Two sterile surgical clamps are placed below the left ovary (black arrow). The blue arrow points to the left horn of the uterus.
Two ligatures of sterile absorbable suture material are placed around the ovarian pedicle which includes the ovarian artery and vein (black arrow). The pedicle will transected between the clamps.
After transecting the ovarian pedicle the broad ligament of the uterus is torn to release the left uterine horn. The ovarian pedicle (black arrow) is then ready to be released back into the abdomen. The remnant of the broad ligament is indicated by the green arrow. The red arrow indicates the left horn of the uterus and the blue arrow indicates the left ovary. The right ovary and uterine horn are removed following the same procedure as the left side.
The left (green arrow) and right (black arrow) ovary and uterine horn have been removed. The red arrow points to the body of the uterus and the cervix.
Two sterile surgical clamps are placed across the body of the uterus above the cervix.
The blue arrow points to the two ligatures of sterile absorbable suture material that have been place around the body of the uterus.
The uterine body has been transected between the two clamps. The ligated uterine stump (blue arrow) is now ready to be released back into the body.
After checking for bleeding from the ovarian pedicles and the uterine stump the body wall is closed with a series of individual simple interrupted sutures of sterile absorbable material. The fat layer and the skin are closed with similar material generally in a simple continuous pattern.
Finally, non-absorbable sutures are placed in the skin. These will be removed in 10 to 14 days. The completed inscision is located between the blue lines.
The now sterilized female dog is recovered from anesthesia.
