Vaginal ovariotomy in cows and heifers

In Belgium and France, until about half a century ago, castration of older cows was applied in some dairy farms. Mainly the 'rubber and pearl method' was used to his end. With a long metal rod ending in a loop with a protrusion on top, the vagina is pressed down, allowing to make a small incision in the dorsal vagina in a safe way. With two fingers introduced into the opened abdominal cavity, one of the ovaries is drawn towards the vagina and trapped with the thumb into a rubber loop, partly inserted into a pearl. Subsequently, the loop is constricted around the ovarial ligament (mesosalpinx and mes -ovarium). Immobilized with the pearl, this causes obliteration of the blood vessels and atrophy. The procedure is repeated with the second ovary. After some time, the devitalized organs drop into the abdominal cavity, in which they are partly resorbed and partly encapsulated, without any complica-tions. The 'pearl method' was mainly applied in older dairy cows destinated for fattening. The Willis spay method, used in heifers in American and Australian extensive beef ranching, is a variant of this procedure. A stainless steel rod, with a teardrop shaped eye at one end, is introduced into the abdominal cavity via the dorsal part of the vagina. Rectally guided, one of the ovaries is trapped in the 'eye' and its pedicle (ligament) is severed by retraction and torsion of the instrument. This is repeated with the second ovary. Both devitalized organs drop into the abdominal cavity, and are resorbed.