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Dog spay: OVH vs OVE? What are the risks of removing just the uterus?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed | Female | 27 lbs

Today tofys OVH was done. But I have just found on internet that OVE is also there. Is removing uterus causes any complication. OVE is better than OVH? Also my doctor was saying not to remove the ovaries only to remove the uterus. She will just get into heat and will not be able to produce puppies. Please answer each of my question. I will really br thankful to you.

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Daniel Fonza, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on April 19th, 2018

OVH is the most common method of spaying a female dog that most veterinarians will perform. Ovariectomy (OVE) is when just the ovaries are removed. A newer trend that is still being researched on its effects on dogs is the removal of the uterus but leaving the ovaries. The dog will still have heat cycles but is unable to become pregnant. Traditional research has suggested that after going through several heat cycles, dogs are at risk for developing mammary cancer. Until that research is proven wrong otherwise, removing the hormonal influence that the ovaries have on the body helps reduce the risk of mammary cancer according to current research. Spay techniques are surgeon preference, so if your veterinarian would like to leave the ovaries in and remove the uterus, I would discuss this further with him and ask him about the pros and cons of doing such a procedure. Does he know if the risk of mammary cancer is altered in doing this procedure differently? Removing the uterus does not cause any major complications other than urinary incontinence, which does not happen in all spayed female dogs but a good majority do suffer from urinary incontinence due to being spayed. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

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