Drop Offs
Drop offs for surgery are typically scheduled between 8:00 and 8:30am unless otherwise discussed with the veterinarian in charge of your pet’s care. If you are running behind, we ask that you please give us a courtesy call so we can make alternate arrangements for your pet’s arrival.
Fasting Instructions
Please ensure that your pet has been fasted according to instructions. When patients are under anaesthetic, they lose their ability swallow on their own. Failure to follow the fasting instructions for your pet may result in your pet vomiting and potentially aspirating the vomit into their lungs causing either complicated pneumonia or respiratory arrest and death.
Your Arrival
When you arrive, we will weigh your pet so we have an accurate weight for medications. The Client Service Representative will help you fill-out the necessary paperwork. This time of the day can be quite busy between surgical drop offs and the regular appointments of the morning therefore we ask that you please be aware that the process is usually quick but may take longer (15-20 minutes) depending on the business of the morning. If you have an appointment to also see the veterinarian that morning, then please be aware that the admit process may take (30-40 minutes). We will do our best to get you in/out as quickly as possible.
If you have any questions, this will be a good time to ask. The Client Service Representative will do their best to answer your questions unless they are more specific for the veterinarian. Your pet will be brought to our treatment area to be examined by the veterinarian. Blood work is an important step in assessing anaesthetic risk before surgery.
Pre-anaesthetic Blood work
Let’s talk about pre-anaesthetic blood work for a moment… Too many times we discuss blood work with owners and when the dreaded question arises about whether they want blood work or not. I see them quickly look at their pet who is bouncing around the exam room and they make the quick decision that he/she looks fine so why need blood work?! Here’s why…
Here are some of the things that we look for:
- Elevations in liver enzymes (ALT, ALP) & in kidney enzymes (BUN, CREA, +/- SDMA): if your pet’s liver and/or kidney function is compromised, this will mean that their body will be unable to properly process and eliminate any of the drugs we will be giving them during the anaesthetic or afterwards to control pain. This will negatively affect their recovery from surgery and potentially cause further damage to organs that are already diseased. Unfortunately this is not just an old patient problem.
- Puppies and kittens may be born with liver and kidney abnormalities (clinically silent early in life) that doesn’t make them as resilient under anaesthetic and puts them at risk for serious complications.
- Glucose: young patients and small breeds of dogs weighing less than 10 lbs are often at higher risk of lower blood glucose (sugar). These patients may need glucose supplementation during the procedure to avoid potentially serious complications. If the levels are too low, we further evaluate the situation and reschedule the procedure to another day. We may also make alternate arrangements to our fasting instructions. Low blood glucose may result in altered mental status, slower heart rates, blindness, seizures, shock, and even death.
- Proteins (ALB, GLOB): proteins are very important in your body and when the levels are too low, patients may start to pool fluid in places where it shouldn’t be (limbs, lungs, and abdomen).
- Electrolytes (Na+ – sodium, K+ – potassium): electrolyte abnormalities, especially involving potassium, will directly affect the function of the heart. Any electrolyte abnormality should be detected prior to anaesthesia because they may lead to cardiac arrest under anaesthetic.
- Red Blood Cell (RBC, HCT): This is the number of circulating red blood cells (oxygen carrying cell) in the body. When these levels are too low, we call this “anemia”. An anemic patient doesn’t have enough RBCs in its body to carry adequate amounts of oxygen to all of the tissues of the body under normal circumstances. Even though your pet will be on oxygen for the surgical procedure, we still need adequate amounts of RBCs to carry that oxygen to brain and other vital organs. Otherwise the lack of oxygen reaching these organs leads to cell stress and death.
- Platelets (PLT): These are the cells responsible for helping your pet’s blood clot, preventing hemorrhage. Inadequate amounts of these will cause your pet to bleed excessively either during or after surgery. If significant blood loss occurs, this may result in expensive hospitalization & blood transfusions, or loss of the patient.
We understand that having blood work performed may result in an extra expense on top of an already costly procedure. But, it may prolong your pet’s life if a disease is detected early and treatments are initiated sooner rather later when the disease is far more advanced. Most importantly, it may prevent a potentially tragic anaesthetic complication that could have otherwise been prevented had we known there was a problem.
Post-exam and pre-anaesthetic blood work, what’s next?
If concerns were encountered either on the exam or on blood work, the doctor would contact you at the number you provided on the surgical consent form. Once cleared for surgery and depending on the surgical order for the day, your pet may be immediately sedated or comfortably placed in a cozy house to wait their turn.
Preparation for anaesthesia and surgery
Once your pet is adequately sedated, they are removed from their house and brought into treatment. At this point an IV catheter is placed. An anaesthetic solution to produce a deeper level of sleep is administered through the IV catheter.
Depending on the expected duration of the procedure or the degree of risk with the patient, either an oxygen mask will be used or a special tube will be placed in your pet’s throat to help them breathe and to administer anaesthetic gas to keep them asleep longer. Patients under anaesthetic do not always have their eyes closed while they are sleeping therefore special eye lubrication is put in their eyes to protect them from damage. All of our surgery patients receive a complimentary nail trim.
Patients under anaesthetic are usually given IV fluids to help maintain their blood pressure while they are asleep and also to help eliminate the anaesthetic drugs from their bodies once they are finished the surgical procedure and are waking up.
Special monitors would also be hooked up so we could monitor their oxygen level, blood pressure, and heart rate. The Registered Technician’s job during the surgery is to make sure that your pet is safe at all times and records everything while your pet is sleeping.
The surgical site would then be clipped and prepped with a special soap to reduce the risk of infection. You pet would then be moved to our surgical room and light restraints applied so they remain straight on the table for the doctor. Warming bags would be placed on either side of your pet to keep them warm throughout the procedure. When finished, the Technician assisting the doctor would then clean up your pet. Some of our prep solutions temporarily stain the fur/skin pink.
Your pet is then wrapped in a cozy blanket with warming bags and kept under close observations in our treatment area until they are awake enough for us to remove the special breathing tube and they are swallowing on their own again (lesser risk of vomiting and aspiration). They are then moved back to their house where they will continue their recovery quietly in their house.
After the procedure has been performed and once your pet has been safely recovered from the anaesthetic, the doctor will then send you a picture of your pet by text message and call you shortly after to discuss how everything went. They will briefly discuss some of the home care instructions and what is expected during your pet’s recovery. They will also discuss what time you can pick up your pet.
Patient discharge back to owner
Our Registered Technicians usually discharge all of our patients. Prior to the technician speaking to you, one of our Client Service Representatives will process your payment and schedule any needed follow-up appointments.
The Technician will go over home care instructions and discuss any medications that may be sent home. This is a good time to ask questions and if the technician doesn’t know the answer, they will forward your question to the veterinarian who performed the procedure.
For any surgical procedure your pet:
- May be shaved in a few locations (intravenous catheter, intravenous injections, surgical preparation, etc.)
- Will get a complimentary nail trim
- Will get cleaned up after surgery. We apologize if we’ve missed a spot.
- May feel out of sorts for the next 24-48 hours from the anaesthetic agents used that day
- May not feel up to eating or drinking immediately when they get home.
- Do not feed any more than 25% of the normal amount fed on the first night home.
- Do not allow your pet to drink large amounts of water all at once but offer smaller frequent amounts for the first night. Your pet may be thirsty but not dehydrated as they were on an intravenous drip.
Once your pet is discharged into your care, if you have any concerns, then we would like to know about them so we can either plan a recheck appointment or just give you additional information as reassurance.
