What You Need to Know Before Your Pet's Upcoming Surgery

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.

Is the anesthesia safe?

Today's modern anesthetic monitors and medications have made surgery much safer than in the past.  Here at The Animal Health Center of Hays, we do a thorough physical exam on your pet before administering anesthetics, to ensure that a fever or other illness won't be a problem.  We also adjust the amount and type of anesthetic used depending on the health of your pet, and we use the safest anesthetics available. 
       preanesthetic blood testing is performed the morning of the procedure in our hospital. This tests your companion's organ function to make sure the medications given will be tolerated, as well as checking for infection, anemia, and platelets which aid in clotting.  Every pet needs blood testing before surgery to ensure that the liver and kidneys can handle the anesthetic.  Even apparently healthy animals can have serious organ system problems that cannot be detected without blood testing.  If there is a problem, it is much better to find it before it causes anesthetic or surgical complications.  Animals that have minor dysfunctions will handle the anesthetic better if they receive IV fluids during surgery.  If serious problems are detected, surgery can be postponed until the problem is corrected.

    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 patients are intubated (a tube is passed down the trachea to deliver oxygen and anesthetic gas) for all surgical procedures to ensure an open airway, and our monitoring includes blood pressure, blood oxygen saturation, ecg, heartrate, and respiratory rate by a specially trained nurse.

Will my pet have stitches?

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.  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. surgery.

Will my pet be in pain?

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.

We do offer laser surgery for most procedures which decreases bleeding, swelling, and pain, and also speeds healing time.  Using the laser seals blood vessels as well as nerve endings, and this means less pain for your pet.

For dogs, we may recommend an oral anit-inflammatory the day after surgery and several days after to lessen the risk of discomfort and swelling.  We use newer medications, which are less likely to cause stomach upset and can be given even the morning of surgery.  The cost of the medication ranges from $15 to $20, depending on the size of your dog.

Because cats do not tolerate standard pain medications such as most anti-inflammatories, we are limited in what we can give them.  Recent advances in pain medications have allowed for better pain control in cats than ever before.  We administer a pain injection 10 minutes prior to surgery for all patients.  After surgery, pain medication is given on a case by case basis.  Any animal that appears painful will receive additional pain medication.

Injectable pain medications may also be used after surgery on dogs, cats, and our exotic patients.  Providing whatever pain relief is appropriate is a humane and caring thing to do for your pet.

What other decisions do I need to make?

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.

When you bring your pet in for surgery, we will need to 5 to 10 minutes of time to fill out paperwork and make decisions on laser surgery 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.

If you would like to watch your pet's procedure, please let us know.  We have an observation window available as well as a TV in our quiet room where you can watch our surgical procedures.

 Please don't hesitate to call us with any questions about your pet's health or surgery.