Surgery

Our surgeries are performed in our surgery suite and our Doctor’s use the safest anesthesia available. We will also monitor your pet’s heart rate, blood pressure, level of oxygen in the blood, and body temperature during the surgery. Each patient will have one Veterinarian and at least one technician assigned to monitor the patient throughout the procedure.

We require pain management for all of our surgery patients. Just as your Doctor would prescribe to you pain management for any painful procedure, we believe our patients also deserve pain control. Your pet will receive an injectable pain medication, followed up by oral pain medications that we will send home with your pet. These oral pain medications will last for several days, ensuring a restful recovery for your pet.

One of our attentive staff members caring for a postoperative patient.

Recommended Services

Pre-surgical lab or Pre-anesthetic Testing: Just as your doctor would have you take a blood test before undergoing surgery, we offer the same type of test for your pets. Blood work is like an ‘internal exam’ that will check your pet’s organ function and help identify any unknown disease. This blood test can significantly reduce medical risks and ensure your pet’s health and safety. If the results are within normal ranges, then we will proceed with confidence, knowing that anesthetic risks are minimized. However, if the results are not within the normal ranges, we can alter the anesthetic procedure, or take precautions to reduce the risk of potential complications.
IV Catheter: An intravenous catheter is a device that allows for the rapid delivery of fluids and medication directly into the blood stream. Just as your doctor would place one into your arm in the hospital, we place the IV Catheter into your pet’s leg. Although anesthetic emergencies are rare, when they do occur a direct open line into the bloodstream can save precious minutes in the delivery of life-saving medications. The catheter also allows for the delivery of fluids during the surgical procedure.
IV Fluids: The administration of intravenous fluids into the blood stream helps maintain blood pressure and preserve health and function of vital organs, such as the liver and kidneys. Just as you would receive IV Fluids from your doctor for a hospital procedure, we recommend that your pet receive the benefits of these fluids.
Additional Pain Management: In addition to the pain injection and pain medications to take home, you can also choose to provide your pet with a nerve block. This is an injection similar to the one you receive from your dentist for your dental work. The nerve block will numb the local are where the procedure will be performed. Examples of uses for nerve blocks are: numbing of the mouth for tooth extractions, numbing of the feet for declaws in cats, numbing of the incision lines of spays, neuters and other surgeries. The local nerve block last for hours after the patient has been recovered from anesthesia. The nerve block serves to increase pain control and make our patients comfortable and their recovery restful.
Laser Surgery: We are proud to offer laser surgery. Your pet will experience less pain, less bleeding and will have a quicker recovery period. With laser surgery, we are improving the standard of care for your pet! Instead of a scalpel, our Doctors can use the laser during the procedure. The laser cauterizes as it cuts, sealing blood vessels and nerve endings. Because the laser is a light beam, there is no physical contact in the surgical area. This means there is no bruising, crushing, or tearing of the surrounding tissues, therefore there is less swelling. The result is less pain for your pet, less blood loss, and less trauma to the surrounding tissues. Laser precision and versatility raise the standard of care available for your pet.

Pre-Surgical Instructions and Our admission process for surgeries

Withhold food after 10:00 p.m. the night before surgery.
Your pet can have water throughout the night.
Give any medications as previously directed by the veterinarian.
You should arrive at the hospital between 7:30 and 8:00 a.m. the morning of the surgery. (Later admission appointments can be scheduled, however prior arrangements should be made with the office.)
Please allow at least 15 minutes for the admission process. During this time, we will go over the treatment plan, fill out any paper work needed, the veterinarian will examine your pet, go over the surgical procedure and answer any questions you may have.
Once your pet has recovered from surgery, we will call you to give you an update on how your pet is doing as well as set up a pick up time.
If at any time you have questions regarding the procedure on your pet, please give us a call.