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 proir to your pet's upcoming surgery.


Is the anesthetic safe?

Every anesthetic procedure has risks.  The doctors and staff at Countryside Animal Clinic try to minimize those risks by taking a number of precautions.  These include preanesthetic labwork, conducting a thorough physical exam proir to sedation, adminstering IV fluid therapy throughout the procedure and post-operatively, using monitoring equipment while your pet is sedated and tailoring our anesthetic protocol to meet each pet's individual needs.  

Preanesthetic blood testing is important in reducing the risks of anesthesia.  It is recommended that every pet has preanesthetic blood testing before surgery to ensure that their internal organs can process the anesthetic.  Even seemingly 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 out before it causes anesthetic or surgical complications.  If serious problems are detected, surgery can be postponed until the problem is corrected.

We offer several levels of blood testing before surgery, which we can discuss with you either prior to or when you bring your pet in that morning.  Our doctors prefer the more comprehensive screen, because it gives them the most thorough information to minimize any possible complication for your pet.  For geriatric or ill pets, additional blood tests, electrocardiograms, or x-rays may be required before surgery as well.

An IV catheter and supportive fluid therapy is required for any patient undergoing anesthesia.  Fluid therapy allows the patient to stay hydrated and makes processing the anesthesia faster and smoother.

It is extremely important that your pet be fasted prior to any anesthetic procedure to reduce the risk of vomiting and aspirating during or after anesthesia.  You will need to withhold food for at least 10 to 12 hours prior to surgery.  Pets may have water until the morning of surgery.


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.  Some surgeries, especially tumor removals, do require external skin sutures.  Any routine surgical procedure will need to be rechecked and any external sutures will usually be removed 10 to 14 days after surgery.  With either type of suture, you will need to monitor the incision for swelling or discharge.  Generally, dogs and cats do not lick or chew at the incision site, but as the hair grows back and the healing process begins this can become a problem that you will also need to watch for.  You will also need to limit your pet's activity level and no bathing or swimming is allowed for the first 10 days after surgery.  If there are any concerns or complications during the healing process, please contact the clinic.


Will my pet be in pain?

Anything that causes pain in people causes pain in animals.  Pets do not show the symptoms of pain in the same way that peope do, but exibite pain in different ways and are extemely stoic.  Pain medications are administered and prescribed depending on the surgical procedure performed.  
Because animals cannot tolerate human pain medications such as aspirin, ibuprofen, or acetiminophen. Recent advances in pain medications have allowed for better pain control than ever before, especially in cats .  We administer a pain injection 10 minutes prior to surgery.  After surgery, pain medication is given on a case by case basis.  Any animal that appears painful will receive additional pain medication.

What other decisions do I need to make?

While your pet is under anesthesia, it is the ideal time to perform other 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, you will need to allow approximately 20 minutes of time to fill out paperwork and make decisions about blood testing and other procedures being preformed.  When you pick up your pet after surgery you can also plan to spend about 30 minutes to review your pet's home care needs with our staff.

Your pet can be dropped off on the morning of the procedure between 7:30am and 8:30am.  If you have trouble with this time because of your work schedule, we may be able to arrange to have the patient dropped off the evening before.  The day your pet is due to go home after their surgical procedure, they can be picked up between 4:00pm and 6:30pm.

We will call you the night before your scheduled surgery appointment to confirm the time you will be dropping your pet off and to answer any questions you might have.  In the meantime, please don't hesitate to call us with any questions about your pet's health or surgery.