Assessment of post-intervention pain due to three methods of male sterilization

Abstract

The objective of this project was to evaluate the post-intervention pain due to three methods of male sterilization. Twenty seven dogs participated in the study and were distributed in three groups: (OT) dogs submitted to orchiectomy; (ZG) dogs submitted to intratesticular injections of zinc gluconate; and (VT) dogs submitted to vasectomy. Pain was evaluated with the dog post-surgical pain evaluation scale from Melbourne. There was no significant difference amongst median pain scores for the groups. In the group ZG, 44% of the animals needed sedation during the application, and 11% showed secondary complications, with ulceration and swollen testicles. The maximum pain score was higher for the ZG group, requiring post-intervention analgesia for one dog. The results motivate studies with higher number of animals regarding zinc gluconate, suggesting that the dogs be closely monitored during 15 days post-intervention.