Abstract

Surgical sterilization is a ubiquitous practice in veterinary medicine, primarily serving as a means of population control and mitigating the incidence of reproductive tract pathologies in companion animals. However, postoperative complications often hinge the specific technique employed. This study aims to surgical sterilization of pet cats by the ovariectomy (OVE) and ovariohysterectomy (OVH), with describing comparatively the surgical and biochemical effects of each process on study animals. Twelve adult female pet cats of different ages and breeds were attended for OVE (6 cats) and OVH (6 cats) during May (2024) to February (2025). Surgical sterilization of study cats was done under general anesthesia, with documentation the data related to surgical duration, intraoperative blood loss, and postoperative complications. Venous blood samples were collected from all cats at preoperative (0 day) and postoperative (1, 3, 7, and 14 days) periods. Then, quantitative testing using specific ELISA kits were served to measurement of four serum makers including α1-acid glycoprotein (α1AGP), interleukin-1 (IL-1), IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). Perioperative findings showed that OVE was linked to a significant reduction in surgical duration (24.81±1.27min) when compared to OVH (38.11±1.48min), with incidence of excessive internal hemorrhage and/or external bleeding as a surgical complications in cats of OVH (50%) more than OVE (33.33%) group. Biochemically, significant elevation in values of serum α1AGP, IL-1, IL-6, and TNF-α were observed in cats of both OVE and OVH groups at postoperative days (1, 3, 7, and 14). However, values were significantly higher in cats of OVH group than those of OVE group for α1AGP, IL-1, and TNF-α at all postoperative days; whereas, levels of serum IL-6 were additionally higher at pre-operative 0 day. In conclusion, this study indicates that feline OVE is less invasive, safe and efficient compared to OVH. Thus, ongoing evaluation of surgical techniques must incorporate a comprehensive assessment of both intraoperative and physiological markers as well as postoperative complications to determine optimal approaches of feline patients. Also, furthermore studies in surgically sterilized cats appear greatly necessary due to the low available data and the need to identification the levels of other enzymatic, hematological, and immune markers in both techniques (OVE and OVH) throughout utilization of the traditional classic and advanced laparoscopic assays.

Key words: Elective sterilization, Gonadectomy, Iraq, Quantitative ELISA, Surgical sterilization