Midline versus flank approach for spaying cats - is one less painful than the other?

This is an updated version of a clinical decision making article originally published in Vet Record in June 2018.7 #### Bottom line Dr Perry brings her five-month-old female domestic shorthair kitten, Kylie, in to be spayed. She has read on the internet that cats can be spayed using either a midline or a flank incision. She is very concerned about Kylie being in pain and asks you which is the least painful surgical option for Kylie. You wonder if one approach is less painful than the other. In \[female cats that are being neutered] does [a midline approach compared with a flank approach\] \[decrease pain following surgery\]? The search strategy can be viewed at https://bestbetsforvets.org/bet/567, and it is also available as a supplement to this article on Vet Record ’s website at https://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/186/17/565 ### Supplementary data [vetrecm2008supp001.docx] Search last performed: 24 April 2020 Only five of the six papers identified were evaluated for this evidence summary. Coe et al 1 contains the same data set as Grint et al , …