Surgical Procedures

Veterinary medicine has become increasingly sophisticated over the years. Veterinary surgeons are performing many of the same procedures in animals that are performed in people. Accordingly, veterinary anesthesia has developed and advanced to meet the needs of the surgeon and the patient.

Before, during and after surgery, patients are given medications to relieve any pain that might develop from the initial problem or from the surgery. We use a combination of oral, transdermal and injectable pain medications including constant rate infusions and epidurals. It is always one of our highest priorities to make certain that we provide as much pain relief as is necessary so that the animal is as comfortable as we can make it.

Pre-Operative Requirements

No surgical procedure is without risk; therefore, when a dog or cat comes in and a surgical procedure is required, the patient is first given a complete physical examination by the veterinary assistant and the surgeon. The doctor will discuss the surgery with you, along with all risks associated. Your pet must be up-to-date on all routine vaccinations, prior to any anesthetic procedure. In order to ensure the safety of your pet, we will perform a complete blood count (to check for anemia and changes in the white blood cell count) and a chemistry profile (to check for kidney and liver function) so that the patient?s body function can be assessed.  If there is no complication, a time will be set up for the procedure to take place.

At Home Preparation

Your pet should have no food after their evening meal (or after 7:00 p.m.) the night before surgery.  Normal water consumption is allowed. This is to prevent any regurgitation of food that may occur when your pet is sedated or anesthetized.

You may be asked to give your pet medications prior to the procedure, such as antibiotics for dental prophylaxis or pain and anti-inflammatory medications for a cruciate repair.

Admitting Your Pet

Upon arrival at our clinic, please check in at the front desk. We will have a consent form for you to sign.  We will also request a telephone number where you can be reached after your pet?s procedure is completed.   

The surgeon will examine your pet again and answer any further questions you may have. Then the surgeon and surgical assistants will prepare your pet for surgery and the surgery will be performed as scheduled.

Pre-Operative Treatment

On the day of surgery, your pet will be given a sedative shortly before the procedure in order to relax them.  A small hair is clipped from your pets leg (usually a front leg) so that an intravenous (IV) catheter can be placed. The IV catheter allows us to administer anesthetic drugs to the patient and also allows us to give the animal intravenous fluids during and after the surgery.

Intra-operative Care

The actual anesthetic procedure is a two step process. Medications are initially given into the catheter to ?induce? anesthesia. This will gently and quickly cause unconsciousness so that a breathing tube can be placed through the mouth and into the trachea (windpipe).  The tube is then hooked up to an anesthetic machine which allows us to administer a gas anesthetic. The gas anesthetics we use are the safest drugs available for use in veterinary medicine. This gas anesthetic will ?maintain? the animal under anesthesia throughout its surgical procedure. The animal?s surgery site is then prepared for surgery and the animal is moved into the operating room.

During the preparation of the animal before the surgery and all during the surgery, a number of pieces of equipment are used to allow us to monitor the patient?s condition. An electrocardiogram (ECG) is used to monitor the electrical activity in the patient?s heart. This helps us to make sure that the animal?s heart is not beating too quickly or too slowly and that there are no arrhythmias. A blood pressure monitor is used to measure the patient?s blood pressure. A pulse oximeter is used to let us make certain that there is enough oxygen in the patient?s blood. Finally, our most important monitor is our anesthetic assistant, who watches over the whole animal and makes certain that everything is going accordingly. Monitoring includes, but is not limited to, checking anesthetic depth and physiological parameters. Record keeping is an essential component of peri-operative care. For all surgical procedures an intra-operative anesthetic record must be kept and included with the surgeon?s report as part of the animal?s record.

Recovery

Recovering from surgeryis often the most vital part of the entire procedure.  Complete healing may be delayed if your furry friend isn?t allowed adequate recovery time.  Additional intervention may even be required.                  

1. Always have an emergency contact number for your veterinarian or his after hours hospital affiliate.
2.  Fully understand the recommendations and follow up procedures in your discharge instructions. Don't be afraid to ask questions.

3.  Your pets? appetite may be decreased after his or her procedure. You may want to offer smaller portions of food more frequently.    Good nutrition is a key part of healing.

4.  Make sure you are available to help your pet outside to relieve himself several times a day.  If you pet is recovering from orthopedic, bone, or joint surgery, make sure you have a sling to help support his weight if he is too big to carry out.
5.  No Stairs!  If your pet has undergone abdominal surgery or orthopedic manipulation, you should carry the dog up and down the stairs. They should not be allowed on the couch or bed at this time either.  He could easily destroy the internal sutures or false ligaments that have been placed.
6.  Don?t overdo it.  We often want to help too much when our beloved pet comes home from the hospital.  Make them a safe place to be.  A crate is best to guarantee their activity is restricted.  Give them only what they need, when they need it.  The more you let them rest the better they will heal.

7.  We offer Elizabethan Collars (cone/lampshade hats) at home for when you can't watch them.  This allows the possibility that he will chew on or remove sutures, bandages or splints.  This could create a major problem for your pet, potentially requiring additional anesthesia and surgery to repair damage.  By placing the collar on your pet anytime you aren't right there, is important.

Of course, the length of time and amount of restraint necessary when recovering from surgery depends entirely on the procedure that was performed.  A dog recovering from a neuter procedure requires much less than a dog recovering from bone surgery.

 If your furry friend is recovering from:
*Spay or Abdominal Surgery - Keep her inside and quiet.  She may not require a crate but she should be kept in where it is clean and she can be restful.  She should have a comfortable place where you can watch her closely.  If she won't settle down well she may need to be in a crate for the first few days if her surgery was more than just a juvenile spay procedure.  She should not go for a walk or play for at least a week. 
*Neuter - Keep him inside and quiet.  You often can barely tell he's had surgery at all.  However, you should still keep him from too much activity.  Keep him in a clean environment and away from his stitches.  He will really want to wash the area because it feels odd and uncomfortable.  He can do a lot of damage if he ruptures sutures inside or out.
*Tumor Removal Healing after a tumor removal can vary from patient to patient. Keep your pet inside and quiet for the first few days.  Watch any bandages and suture lines for weeping, oozing and sloughing.  Sutured areas involving taut areas of skin may pull before it has healed.  This increases the importance of keeping your pet quiet during healing.

*Eye surgery - Make sure you limit the time they spend in the light.  Brief outside visits are best and rooms with low light conditions should be maintain for several days while they heal.  The eyes have to work much harder in bright light. *Bone or Joint Surgery - Keep your pet confined.  A crate is the best place as long as it is big enough to accommodate whatever apparatus they come home with.  Your pet should be restricted as per the vet?s recommendation.  No exceptions.  You should either carry them out if it is more than a few steps or if they are too big to lift, invest in a harness or use an old towel as a sling to help take weight off the recovering structure.  Your pet will need a lot of help and patience if you have stairs.

Check the surgical area several times a day to make sure there is no swelling, redness beyond what it was when they came home, heat, oozing, or weeping after the first 24 hours.  If there is a splint or bandage you should smell it to make sure there is no dead tissue smell.  A splint can often rub in one area and create sores and lesions.  Be aware of these.  They are painful and take a long time to heal.  A cast MUST be kept dry at ALL times!  A wet splint can lead to tissue damage and gangrene.  Special boots are available to aid in keeping splints free of moisture.