Dr. Kirk Miller instructs fourth-year veterinary students at the Oregon Humane Society in Portland.
Faculty from the Carlson College of Veterinary Medicine at Oregon State University have evaluated a new method of neutering young male dogs and found it to be safe and significantly faster than traditional methods.
Dr. Kirk Miller led a team that performed sutureless scrotal castration (SLSC) on 400 young dogs at the Oregon Humane Society (OHS) shelter in Portland. The dogs were carefully monitored post-surgery and found to have no major complications, and a low incidence (less than 3%) of minor issues like swelling and bruising. They also found that the new procedure was, on average, 2.5 minutes faster.
In traditional castration surgery, the four blood vessels and cords that lead to the testicles are closed off by tying sutures around each one. In the new method, the vessels and cords are knotted.
The results of the study were published in JAVMA, Dec. 15, 2018, Vol. 253, N0. 12, Evaluation of sutureless scrotal castration for pediatric and juvenile dogs. Participants in the study include: Kirk P. Miller, DVM, Wendi L. Rekers, DVM, Lena G. DeTar DVM, Jacqueline M. Blanchette DVM, and Milan Milovancev DVM.
