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Many people have questions about various aspects of their pet's surgery, and we hope this information will help. It also explains the decisions you will need to make before your pet's upcoming surgery. At Island Animal Hospital our veterinarians are calm, compassionate and willing to explain all the procedures your pet undergoes. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
Today's modern anesthetic drugs and monitors have made surgery much safer than in the past. Here at Island Animal Hospital, we do a physical exam on your pet before administering anesthetics to check for signs of systemic illness or physical problems that could present a complication with anesthesia. We also strongly recommend and in many cases require pre-anesthetic blood testing to better assess the general health of your pet and its ability to adequately tolerate the anesthetic procedure and the drugs used. We often pick up potential or real problems that are not evident on a physical exam. The type of blood testing is tailored both to the age and any predisposing issues of the animal as well as to the type of procedure being done. In a few cases, additional testing may be recommended, such as chest x-rays or ECG.
We also recommend and in some cases require that the patient be on IV fluids during their anesthetic/surgical procedure and, sometimes, after for a period of time. There are many reasons why this is beneficial and adds to the safety of the procedure: Usually animals are fasted for 8 -12 hours pre-anesthesia which causes borderline dehydration; this is corrected by the fluid therapy. Anesthesia decreases the patient's blood pressure and cardiovascular function which can effect kidney and other organ function; fluid therapy supports and promotes better tissue blood perfusion. IV fluid therapy during surgery helps greatly to lower the risk of "surgical shock", which can be a sequele of any more traumatic surgical procedure. Finally, the IV catheter provides an immediate and easy access for drug adminstration in the event of an anesthetic/surgical emergency.
We individually plan each anesthetic regimen based on history, physical findings, lab results, and procedure being done so as to keep the risk at an absolute minimum. Rest assured that if we do find potential for unexpected complications, we will contact you before we proceed with the procedure. It is important that surgery be done on an empty stomach to reduce the risk of vomiting during and after anesthesia. You will need to withhold food for at least 8 to 10 hours before surgery. Water can be left down for the pet until the morning of surgery.
All anesthetic patients are monitored, usually in mulitple ways. Very short minor procedures have an anesthetic assistant monitoring vital signs during the procedure. Most procedures are monitored by pulse oximetry (pulse rate and blood oxygen levels). Longer procedures are also monitored with continuous ECG as well as Doppler Blood pressure measurement. Additionally, during all procedures, a trained anesthetic assistant monitors respirations and vital signs of the patient.
"The patient under anesthesia is the most important patient in the animal hospital".
For many surgeries, we use absorbable sutures underneath the skin. These will dissolve on their own, and do not need to be removed later. Some surgeries, especially tumor removals, do require skin stitches. With either type of suture, you will need to keep an eye on the incision for swelling or discharge. Most dogs and cats do not lick excessively or chew at the incision, but this is an occasional problem you will also need to watch for. We can supply a protective collar if licking is a problem. If there are skin sutures, these will usually be removed 10 to 14 days after surgery. You will also need to limit your pet's activity level for a time and no baths are allowed for the first 10 days after surgery.
Anything that causes pain in people can be expected to cause pain in animals. Pets may not show the same symptoms of pain as people do; they usually don't whine or cry, but you can be sure they feel it. Pain medications needed will depend on the surgery performed. Major procedures require more pain relief than things like minor lacerations. Most animals are given pain medication before, during, and/or after the procedure. Depending on the procedure medication might be dispensed to be given at home.
Please do not give your pet any pain medications without contacting us first.
This includes Aspirin, Tylenol, Ibuprofin, or an similar drugs. Many of these are toxic to dogs and especially to cats. Some can even cause post-operative bleeding.
While your pet is under anesthesia, it is the ideal time to perform other minor procedures, such as dentistry, ear cleaning, or implanting an identification microchip. If you would like an estimate for these extra services, please call ahead of time. This is especially important if the person dropping the pet off for surgery is not the primary decision maker for the pet's care. We will always ask you to leave a contact number so we can reach you for questions, reports, unexpected findings, etc.
We request that you bring your pet in by 9 am on the morning of the surgery. When you bring your pet in for surgery, we will need about 5 minutes of time to fill out paperwork and make decisions on the blood testing and other options available. When you pick up your pet after surgery you can also plan to spend about 10 minutes to go over your pet's home care needs. You should receive a print out listing post-operative and follow up care recommendations. We will give you an approximate pick up time when you drop your pet off, but please feel free to call in for progress and condition reports and updates on when your pet will be ready to be picked up.
Please don't hesitate to call us with any questions about your pet's health or surgery.
