Your pet is scheduled to be spayed on: _____________________
 
 
You have made a good decision! When you decided to spay your pet, you did more than opt against pet overpopulation; you chose to increase the length and quality of your friend’s life. Did you know that spaying within the first year of life decreases the incidence of breast cancer to less than 2 percent? In addition, spaying eliminates the risk of pyometra, a disease combining abnormal hormonal levels with a bacterial infection; the result is a life-threatening situation where the uterus fills with pus, becoming even larger than in pregnancy. Healthy life versus critical illness—looks like you made the right choice. Now let’s look at the procedure.
 
Pre-surgical Instructions:
Your pet must be fasted prior to surgery to prevent vomiting post-operatively. When vomiting occurs during recovery from anesthesia, the patient may inhale some of the vomitus into the lungs causing a serious form of pneumonia; stomach contents have a very adverse effect on the respiratory mucosa. To avoid this complication, you must take all food and water away from your pet at 12:00am (midnight), the night prior to surgery. Geriatric patients, any animal over the age of 7 years old, may have water until 6:00am the morning of surgery. No breakfast or treats, no matter how much they beg! Surgical patients are admitted the morning of surgery between 7:30 and 8:30am. Please inform our staff of special medications or diets required by your pet. Please leave all personal belongings at home, as we supply everything that your pet will need while staying with us.
 
Pre-Operative Procedures:
We recommend that all pets have pre-anesthetic bloodwork prior to anesthesia. This panel screens for abnormalities of the liver and kidneys that may not be readily apparent but may have serious effects on the body’s ability to metabolize anesthetic drugs. Pets with a normal physical exam and under seven years of age need only a short in-house screen, but older pets or patients with abnormalities should have more extensive evaluations. Also preoperatively, each patient is weighed and has a physical exam to assess for any newly arisen or previously undetected abnormalities. In the event of an abnormal exam or lab-work, you will be informed and you may elect to postpone surgery based on the degree of risk.
 
After ascertaining that the pet is healthy for surgery, anesthesia is initiated. An intravenous injection of an anesthetic is given to quickly induce sleep. An endotracheal tube is placed in the windpipe to deliver oxygen and anesthetic gas directly to the lungs, as well as providing a means of direct ventilation in case of adverse reactions. A monitor called a pulse oximeter is attached to the tongue or ear flap of the patient; this evaluates both heart rate and percentage of oxygen in the blood stream with a warning signal sounding if the patient goes out of safe parameters. A veterinarian’s assistant monitors the heart rate, mucous membrane color, and depth of anesthesia throughout the entire procedure.
 
After anesthetizing the patient, the abdomen is clipped of hair, and scrubbed antiseptically before moving the pet to the surgery room where a final antimicrobial scrub is performed.
 
Surgical Procedure:
Spaying is more correctly termed an ovariohysterectomy. A midline abdominal incision provides access to the reproductive tract. Both ovaries are ligated and removed as well as the horns and body of the uterus down to the cervix. The abdominal wall of muscle is sutured closed with a long-lasting absorbable suture material, and the skin is closed separately either with external removable sutures or absorbable buried sutures.
 
Post Operative Care:
During recovery, the pet is monitored until she is awake enough for the endotracheal tube to be removed. This is the critical time for post-operative vomiting so the animal is monitored for some time after extubation. When sufficiently awake, the patient is bedded down in her cage with blankets and hot water bottles. Pain relievers are administered by injection to continue the analgesia from the anesthetics. Oral pain relievers specifically for animals are also recommended for recovery at home.
 
Most dogs are ready to walk outside in the afternoon for urination/defecation. Cats use small low litter boxes in their cages. All surgical animals will be offered food and water as soon as they are able to handle it. Both dogs and cats are hospitalized for two nights post-op to restrict activity as well as to observe that healing is proceeding normally. Any pet licking or picking at their incision will be fitted with an Elizabethan Collar to allow for unimpeded healing.
 
Back at Home:
Restriction of activity is the number one priority post-operatively. Most patients feel ready to resume their normal routine but they have just had MAJOR SURGERY. Dogs should be leash walked for 10-14 days with no rough play. Cats should be kept inside and discouraged from excessive jumping. If licking or picking at the sutures begins at home, call us for an E-collar. Surgical incisions are rechecked and sutures are removed 10-14 days post-operatively.