Your pet has been scheduled in the near future for surgery. In an attempt to make the morning of surgery less stressful, here is some information to help prepare you for the day. In addition to this letter, the following information will be provided as well.
⦁ Pre-Surgical Checklist
⦁ Estimate for Procedure
⦁ Surgical Authorization Sheet
⦁ Post Surgical Information
If at any time you have questions leading up to surgery, please call the office and our surgical team will be happy to answer them for you.
Pre-Surgical Information
The morning of your pets procedure they are expected to be dropped off between 7:30-8:00 am. For the safety of our staff the office will not be opened before 7:30 am. If you arrive early we ask that you wait in your car until we are open. Drop off takes between 5-10 minutes (depending on the inflow of surgery patients). At drop off a surgical team member will review and have you sign the surgical authorization/procedure estimate.
What happens next?
After you drop your pet off they receive a physical exam and preoperative blood work (if required). If any abnormalities are found, or concerns arise the surgeon will contact you prior to moving forward. Once your pet is cleared for surgery, an intravenous catheter is placed, they are premedicated and move forward with their scheduled procedure. Each pet is watched closely during the recovery process. A surgery team member will contact you once your pet is awake and resting comfortably. At this time we will schedule a discharge time for you to meet with the surgeon and pick up your pet. We ask that you arrive on time for your scheduled discharge, as time is set aside specifically for each patient. At discharge you will be informed of the post surgical plan specific to your pet’s procedure.
What does Anesthesia look like for my pet?
All patients have a customized anesthesia plan including pre medication (sedation prior to induction), induction medication (injection used to place your pet under anesthesia), and postoperative medications (pain control). All patients requiring full anesthesia have an intravenous catheter placed (allows for direct access to their vein), have an endotracheal tube placed, and maintained on gas anesthesia. While under anesthesia your pet will be monitored both electronically (heart rate, respiratory rate, temperature, oxygen saturation, and blood pressure) and by a trained veterinary technician (starting at intake until they go home at their discharge time). They will also receive heat support to help regulate their body temperature.
Throughout the rest of the day your pet will be monitored to ensure their pain is controlled and they are set up the best they can be for their recovery process at home.
Although we strive to have the best surgical outcome for each individual pet, it is important to remember anesthetic/surgical complications can occur.