Post-operative stress, as indicated by changes in plasma cortisol concentration, was monitored for seven days in 30 bitches, half of whom were subjected to conventional (group I) and half to laparoscopic ovariohysterectomy (group II). No increases on plasmatic cortisol concentration were observed in the pre-surgery phase (time 1) and when animals were under anaesthesia just before surgery (time 2). Cortisol concentration increased in both groups only during the intra-operative period (time 3) and one hour after recovery from anesthesia (time 4). Cortisol levels were higher in the bitches submitted to laparoscopy than in those experiencing conventional surgery. For both surgical approaches, cortisol concentrations in the post-operative phase returned to values characteristic of the pre-operative phase. Response to stress, assessed from changes in plasma cortisol concentration, was similar for both groups.
bitch; ovariohysterectomy; laparoscopy; stress; cortisol
