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Animal / preclinicalJournal of the American Veterinary Medical Association · 2026

A single-layer, full-thickness, simple continuous suture pattern is safe for hysterotomy closure in dogs undergoing cesarean section.

Benjamin H Goldblatt, J Gregory Burns, Sarah J Marvel

AnesthesiologyAnimal / preclinical

Postoperative complications occurred in 6.7% of dogs after hysterotomy closure.

A single-layer, full-thickness, simple continuous suture pattern is safe for hysterotomy closure in dogs undergoing cesarean section.

Benjamin H Goldblatt et al. · Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association · 2026

Purpose

To evaluate short-term complications for single-layer, full-thickness, simple continuous appositional closure (AC) of the uterus in dogs undergoing cesarean section (CS).

Methods

A medical record review for dogs undergoing CS between May 2014 and February 2025 was performed at Colorado State University.

n = 89 cases

6.7%

Results

Only 6.7% of dogs experienced complications after uterine incision closure.

n = 89 cases

More results

The study population included 77 dogs that underwent 89 CSs (70 AC, 19 IC).

Closure pattern was not found to be a risk factor for development of postoperative complications.

One dog developed paralysis following epidural use at the time of CS.

Twenty-four dogs had subsequent pregnancies: 19 of 24 (79.2%) after AC and 5 of 24 (20.8%) after IC.

“

Conclusion

Full-thickness AC was not a significant risk factor for short-term postoperative complications. Both single- and double-layer, full-thickness hysterotomy closures were compatible with subsequent successful whelping and CSs.

A single-layer, full-thickness, simple continuous suture pattern is safe for hysterotomy closure in dogs undergoing cesarean section.

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