PUERPERAL COMPLICATIONS AFTER CESAREAN-SECTION IN DAIRY-COWS AND IN DOUBLE-MUSCLED COWS

The puerperium after a cesarean section is often complicated by a numb er of complications linked with the surgical intervention. As a conseq uence the cesarean section is mostly considered as an undesired event. Nevertheless Belgian farmers selected during the last 30 years a doub le-muscled breed that can only exist by the grace of the cesarean sect ion. Some European countries plan to forbid breeding with these animal s for reasons of animal welfare. The presented study compares the comp lications after cesarean section in dairy cows and in double-muscled c ows. The group of the dairy cows is divided in cows that deliver a pur e-bred dairy calf and in cows that were inseminated by a double-muscle d bull and deliver a cross-bred calf. Of the 125 dairy cows delivering a pure-bred dairy calf only 58% recovered uneventfully, while 78% of the 189 double-muscled cows did so. Seventy percent of the dairy cows inseminated by a double-muscled bull heal without complications. The m ost frequent complications are of infectious origin. Wound infection o ccurred in 21% of the cows and was encountered more frequently in dair y cows than in double-muscled cows. Peritonitis occurred twice as much in dairy cows bred by a dairy bull than in the other 2 groups. Twenty -seven percent of the cows suffering from peritonitis died or had to b e slaughtered because of incomplete recovery. The third infectious com plication was metritis that was diagnosed in 14 cows and was also more seen in dairy cows. Of the 412 cows that could be followed long enoug h, 6 died and another 10 had to be slaughtered because of their worsen ing condition. Not all these losses were directly related to the cesar ean section. The discussion tries to give an explanation for the diffe rences in the final outcome of a cesarean section in dairy cows and in double-muscled cows. Most likely differences that already exist befor e the start of the operation, are at the origin of these results. The conclusion is that the cesarean section remains undesirable in dairy c ows because of the high number of complications. The elective characte r of the cesarean section in double-muscled cows has strongly reduced the number of infectious complications. Nevertheless there remain cert ainly possibilities to improve the operation technique in order to red uce the number of complications.