Risk Factor Analysis of Neonatal Mortality After Cesarean Section in the Dog Paula F. Moon-Massat, DVM, PhD  Cornell University

Moderator:

Alexander F. Draper is a Founder of the AKC Canine Health Foundation. He was elected to the Board of Directors of the Foundation in 1995 and currently serves as its Treasurer. Mr. Draper founded Cyn-San Collies in 1948. Since that time he has been involved in exhibiting, obedience, herding and breeding Collies and Pembroke Welsh Corgis. He is an AKC licensed judge of Collies, Shetland Sheepdogs and Pembroke Welsh Corgis. Mr. Draper's business career includes serving in executive positions with national and international corporations. His professional career also involves leadership positions with non-profit management including the Guggenheim Museum, American Geographical Society and the Museum of the American Indian. He founded the Collie Club of America Foundation and the Doberman Pinscher Club of America Foundation and has assisted in the formation of numerous other Parent Club Foundations.

Summary:

A prospective study (109 private and institutional practices) assessed peri-operative risk factors for neonatal mortality in 808 litters (3,408 puppies) requiring Cesarean surgery for delivery of at least one puppy.

Survival rates for immediately, two hours and seven days after delivery were 92, 87 and 80 percent, respectively, for puppies delivered by Cesarean section and 86, 83 and 75 percent, respectively for puppies born naturally. In 67 percent of litters, all puppies delivered by Cesarean section were born alive. Maternal mortality rate was I percent (n=9). Fifty-eight percent of the surgeries were done as an emergency.

The most common breeds for emergency surgery were Bulldog, Labrador Retriever, Boxer, Corgi and Chihuahua. Results of risk-factor analysis indicate that the following factors were identified as "favorable": the surgery was not an emergency; the dam was not brachycephalic; there were four puppies; there were no naturally delivered or deformed puppies; all puppies breathed spontaneously; at least one puppy vocalized spontaneously; and neither methoxyflurane nor xylazine was used in the anesthetic protocol. Data also suggested that a favorable outcome is more likely to occur if either propofol or isoflurane are used as anesthetic agents.

Biographical Profile

Dr. Paula F. Moon-Massat graduated from The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 1987. Her first job was in a mixed-animal practice in Lee, New Hampshire. She then completed a three-year residency in 1991 in Anesthesia/Critical Care from the University of California, Davis where she received her board certification in Anesthesiology. She then completed an NIH-funded, post-doctorate research fellowship in Anesthesia/Critical Care at a human medical teaching hospital, the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas. In 1993, she accepted her current job as Assistant Professor in the Anesthesia Section, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York.

Her research at the Laboratory for Pregnancy and Neonatal Research focuses on methods of improving health care for pregnant patients and especially focuses on the fetal effects of new types of emergency drugs and fluid resuscitation. In addition to this, she has completed a large, comprehensive clinical study evaluating the anesthetic techniques for cesarean section in dogs.