Surgery

What types of surgical services do you provide for dogs?

At Companion Animal Hospital, we are pleased to offer orthopedic procedures in addition to soft tissue surgeries. Our highly skilled veterinarians paired with seasoned support staff make for the perfect surgery team.

Surgeries include but are not limited to:

• Spays
• Neuters
• Lumpectomies (mass/lump removal)
• Cystotomies (bladder stone removal)
• Analsaculectomy (anal gland removal)
• Hernia repairs
• Preventative gastropexy
• Exploratory
• Aural hematoma repairs
• Orthopedic procedures (tibial tuberosity advancement, fracture repairs, femoral head osteotomy, amputations, luxating patella repair)
• Dental
• Basic ophthalmic surgeries

How do I prepare myself and my pet for surgery?

First, create a plan that both you and your veterinarian are comfortable with. From there, you will be presented with an estimate so you can prepare for costs. For most surgical procedures, your pet will need pre-surgical bloodwork. It can be booked a few days before surgery to ensure that your pet is a good anesthetic candidate. If bloodwork is within normal limits, you will be contacted by a technician to let you know your pet has the “green light” for surgery. If there are any red flags (values not within normal limits), you will be contacted by the vet to discuss further treatment options.

What should I expect on surgery day?

So, bloodwork is good and your pet is ready for surgery – what’s next?

We admit our surgery patients into the hospital between 7:30 am – 8:00 am. When you arrive with your pet, the welcoming front staff will guide you to our scale to ensure we have an accurate weight for calculating medications. From there, you will meet the members of our surgery team. Our admission appointment is generally 5-10 minutes. Once you have given your dog hugs and kisses, we take them into our treatment area for the doctor to do one last full physical exam. Next, we sedate to relieve the stress of being in the hospital, and this allows us to place an IV catheter. IV catheters enable us to have vein access for induction agents, fluids throughout surgery and emergency medications if needed.

Upon recovery, your dog is housed in a kennel filled with blankets which provide warmth and soft bedding. We will comfort your pet for quite some time before giving you a call (around noon) to provide an update. During your phone call, we discuss the details of the procedure, what to expect for the evening, medications to go home, and we will set up a discharge time between 2:00 pm – 8:00 pm.