Assessment of uterine involution in bitches using B-mode and Doppler ultrasonography

Quantitative ultrasound elastography and biometry of the bitch uterus in the early puerperium after vaginal delivery and caesarean section

“…However, no comparisons between the involution of the uterine layers after c‐section were found in the literature, nor with respect to the thickness of the uterine wall. The uterine lumen was evidenced during the study with normal locus expulsion and without any evidence of pathological processes, observations consistent with those described by Barbosa et al ().…”

“…The type of delivery influenced the uterine diameter (12.53 ± 2.64 mm in normal delivery and 15.26 ± 4.73 mm in c‐section), being these values similar that reported by Barbosa et al () (1.11 ± 0.16; 1.24 ± 0.31 cm, respectively), highlighting the involution during the first post‐partum week. The differences in uterine involution after normal delivery and c‐section denoted that physiological delivery had higher recovery rate, probably due to the more effective action of PGF2α, which has a vasodilation function and stimulates oxytocin that produce uterine contractions (Barbosa et al, ; Hoffmann, Riesenbech, & Klein, ). It could also be related to the hypothesis that surgery has a negative influence on the uterine regression as proposed by Ferri et al () during the first week post‐partum.…”

“…Based on the results of the present study, the use of B‐mode and ARFI ultrasonography to evaluate daily the puerperal uterus of brachycephalic bitches was feasible and applicable, causing no evident changes in maternal or neonatal health, as described in elastography previous studies in women (Tanaka et al, ) and biometric in bitches (Barbosa et al, ; Ferri & Vicente, ; Ferri et al, ).…”

“…At the normal puerperium, the bitches exhibit serous‐bloody vaginal discharge for 1–6 weeks being this time considered, as the time of normal uterine involution (Feldman & Nelson, ). Although several studies have evaluated the puerperal period in female dogs (Barbosa et al, ; Ferri & Vicente, ; Ferri, Vicente, & Toniollo, ; Orfanou et al, ; Pharr & Post, ; Yeager & Concannon, ), in contrast to other mammalian species, the chronology of uterine involution has been poorly described and the uterine tissue characteristics as well its elasticity have not been characterized.…”

Advanced ultrasound techniques in small animal reproduction imaging

“…Uterine artery RI and PI were significantly lower in normal delivery than in c‐section bitches during uterine involution (Barbosa et al, ). Interestingly, reduced fertility of bitches was linked to impaired diastolic flow of the uterine artery (Freeman, Russo, & England, ).…”