Castration of male dogs is one of the most common surgically performed procedures in the United States. While traditional castration can be performed by many techniques, all include removal of the testicles through an incision. Depending on the age and size of the dog, further invasive surgery is performed to remove the scrotal sac (scrotal ablation) to decrease the possibility of postoperative complications. Noted complications with traditional castration include infection, incisional complications, scrotal blood clots, scrotal skin death, severe bleeding, and less frequently but more seriously, damage to the urethra and prostate gland. These complications are seen more frequently in large breed dogs and dogs afflicted by cryptorchidism (testicles in the wrong location).

An alternative to Traditional Castration (TC) is Total Laparoscopic Castration (TLC) which involves ligating the blood supply of the testicle as well as severing the duct that carries sperm (vas deferens). Total laparoscopic castration has been investigated previously in both small and large animals and found to be safe and effective. A short-term study comparing dogs castrated by both techniques reported significantly lower pain scores, cortisol levels (stress hormone), and C-reactive protein levels (inflammation value) in the laparoscopic group. The objective of this study is to investigate the surgical and anesthesia time, short-term and medium-term hormonal and physiologic effects, pain scores and postoperative complications of large breed dogs undergoing TLC or TC combined with laparoscopic gastropexy if appropriate. We hypothesize that the surgical and anesthesia times will be shortened, hormonal and pain score effects will be comparable, and the complication rate and physiologic inflammatory effect will be lower for TLC dogs compared to TC dogs.

Eligibility: Any dog that weighs more than 33 pounds that is seen at the Cornell University Hospital for Animals for simultaneous laparoscopic gastropexy and castration.

Compensation: There are no additional costs to participate in this study. You will receive 10% off your bill associated with the castration and gastropexy. There is no cost to you for the follow up study appointments if done at Cornell. The study will pay for surgical complications if necessary.

Owner Responsibilities: Your dog will be randomized between traditional and laparoscopic castration. 

• All dogs will undergo blood tests and a recheck examination on days 0 (pre-surgery), 1 (first day after surgery), 14, 30, 90 and 180. 
  • all dogs will receive an injection of a hormone stimulant (Gonadotropin releasing hormone - GnRH) to test for testosterone levels at days 0, 1, 14, 90, and 180.
  • The postoperative appointments may be done at your primary veterinarian IF your vet can perform the GnRH stimulation test, however those costs will not be covered.

Principal Investigator: Nicole Buote, DVM, DACVS

Contact/Schedule an Appointment: Please contact the soft tissue surgery service or the clinical trials coordinator at 607.253.3060, or email vet-research@cornell.edu.