A retrospective study on 159 cesareans on dairy cows referred between 1985 and 1989 to the veterinary teaching hospital is reported. The objective of the study was to evaluate the probability and the factors associated with survival and subsequent calving. The risk of dying for the cows was 24% following surgery. The risk of dying differed if the cow had an emphysematous, dead, or live calf; it was 63%, 21%, and 14%, respectively. Of all the cows returned to the farm and for which there was a breeding recorded, 64% calved again. But only 28% of all the cows returned home and, therefore, only 17% of all the referred cases calved again. We used multivariate analysis to obtain a predictive model on prognosis following surgery. The prognosis was only influenced by the calf condition at admission.