VETERINARY SURGERY
"In order to keep a good perspective of one's importance, everyone should have a dog that admires him and a cat that ignores him"- Dereke Bruce
Only Experienced Surgeons
In the event that your pet requires a surgical solution to resolve his or her medical problem, you should be confident that he or she will receive only the best of care at Petchester Veterinary. Our skilled surgeons and knowledgeable technical nursing staff use advanced anesthetic monitoring and pain management techniques in order to provide patients with the safest and most comfortable experience possible. For procedures that we do not routinely perform at our hospital, we utilize the services of a board-certified veterinary surgeon who is contacted on an as-need basis and will perform those surgeries in our hospital. Surgical intervention is discussed only after other, less invasive, medical alternatives have been explored or considered. Surgical estimates, including fees for the procedure, anesthesia, pain management and pre-operative and post-operative care and hospitalization will be provided in advance for your approval.
Surgical Experience and Training
Our veterinarians are seasoned practitioners who have extensive surgical experience. They attend regular continuing education training to ensure that they are using the newest and most updated techniques and procedures. They perform a variety of soft tissue surgeries which range from spay and neuters to ear and eye surgeries. They also provide orthopedic surgical services including fracture repairs and dental procedures. They routinely collaborate closely with board-certified veterinary surgeons who are available for consultation and are prepared to perform any surgery that may require specialized equipment or skills. At Petchester Veterinary, we understand that each member of the surgical team plays a vital role. That’s why we also have dedicated, licensed veterinary technicians who have a thorough background in anesthetic monitoring and surgical support.
Surgery Safety Protocols
Your pet’s safety and well-being will always come first with us. That’s why we have extensive safety protocols in place throughout each stage of treatment. Prior to undergoing surgery, patients undergo a complete physical examination as well as undergo a pre-anesthetic blood profile to ensure that they do not have any underlying health issues. Intravenous (IV) catheters are used for most surgical procedures. They enable us to administer fluids to keep the patient hydrated and help maintain a healthy blood pressure. Should an emergency arise, an IV catheter provides an immediate way for us to administer medications. It also enables us to flush drugs out from your pet’s system once the procedure is complete, so he or she can recover more rapidly. Our specialized surgical suite is equipped with the latest in advanced monitoring equipment. While your pet is under anesthesia, a licensed veterinary technician will continually review his or her vital parameters. These include blood pressure, heart rate, electrocardiography (ECG), blood oxygenation, respiration rate, and temperature. While our veterinary technician ensures everything is proceeding as it should, our veterinary surgeon is able to stay focused on the details of the procedure.
Pet Pain Management
Our veterinarians and staff are very aggressive when it comes to pain management for our patients. We want them to be as comfortable as possible before, during, and after the procedure. Toward that end, our veterinarians use the newest and safest anesthetics available for pre-operative sedation and pre-emptive pain management. The anesthetics we use are specifically tailored to each patient’s unique needs. In addition, we employ multi-nodal pain control where multiple medications are used simultaneously in order to lessen the amount of each one required. Not only is this more effective in controlling your pet’s discomfort, it also reduces the risk of potential side effects. Lastly, when necessary, our veterinarians will provide you with medications for home use so that your pet will not be in pain while he or she is recovering.
Orthopedic Surgery
Most orthopedic problems in our pets come from traumatic incidents. Whether it is an athletic injury, an injury from an external force, like being hit-by car or a blunt force from a fallen object, you should feel confident that we have the means to resolve it. We utilize multiple modalities to repair fractures from external fixations, like casting and internal surgical repairs like bone plating. For more complicated procedures that are not routinely performed in our hospital, we have at our disposal board-certified veterinary orthopedic surgeons who have extensive experience and the proper equipment necessary to return your pet to normal health and function. Some examples of the orthopedic procedures that might be performed in our hospital are:
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Fracture and Luxation Repairs
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Amputations
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Femoral Head Ostectomy for avascular femoral head necrosis (Legg Perthes) in the dog
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Congenital Bone Defect Repairs (elbow dysplasia, patellar luxation)
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Correction of angular limb deformities
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Knee Surgeries for Cruciate Ligament Tears
Soft Tissue Surgery
Our veterinarians are skilled surgeons who have a long history of performing soft tissue surgeries that involve many different organ systems, from skin surgeries like lump removals in an old dog to intestinal resections due to ingestion of Christmas tinsel.
Some examples of the soft tissue surgeries that might be routinely performed in our hospital are the following:
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Spays/Neuters
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Biopsies
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Exploratory procedures
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Removal of ingested foreign objects such as pantyhose, corncobs and/or intestinal resections
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Eye surgeries, including cherry eye, entropion, and eyelid tumor removals
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Ear surgeries to treat conditions such as hematomas and ear canal deformations
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Skin surgeries, including wound repairs and tumor removals
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Anal sac removals
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Bladder stone removals
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Splenectomy
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Gastropexy to prevent torsion /bloat in large-breed dogs
Spay and Neuter
Pet Spaying is a generic term used to describe an ovariohysterectomy (surgical removal of the ovaries and uterus) of a female and neutering is the colloquial term used for castration (removal of the testes) of the male. However, neutering can also be used in reference to both genders. These procedures are performed to render the animal unable to reproduce and are the most common surgical procedures performed in veterinary hospitals. It is safe to neuter animals as early as 8 weeks prior to sexual maturity. We feel that spaying and neutering your pets is the most responsible decision and we support the philosophies and recommendations of the Humane Society of the United States which are based on the following reasons and rationale:
1.) Your Civic Responsibility: Because of the tremendous overpopulation of domesticated pets from irresponsible or unwanted breeding, millions of our tax dollars are spent annually to shelter, house, and care for unwanted pets. Much of that money is spent on the euthanasia of animals when enough homes cannot be found. Since these unwanted animals do not receive any veterinary care, they also can become a health danger to us and to our own pets from transmittable diseases (including rabies), animal bites and attacks, damage to property, undue animal waste, etc. Enough reasons for all of us to do our own part to not contribute to the overpopulation problem.
2.) Elimination of undesirable personality traits: Neutering can eliminate some undesirable sexual behavior like the constant crying and pacing of a female cat in heat, and the bloody discharge of a dog in her heat cycle. It can also decrease aggressiveness, the urgency to roam, urine marking, and humping in the male.
3.) Improved health: Spaying a female prior to her first heat virtually eliminates the risk of mammary cancer and entirely prevents uterine cancers and uterine infections. Neutering males prevents testicular cancer and enlarged prostates, and reduces the risk of perianal tumors.
4.) Cost: The cost of not spaying or neutering your animals is in fact much higher when considering the costs of veterinary care for caring for one litter of kittens or puppies or caring for an animal with uterine or mammary cancer or uterine infections.