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 before your pet's upcoming surgery.
Preparing your pet for surgery
1. The night before surgery, please withhold food for at least 8 - 12 hours before admission. Continue to offer water until just before leaving home unless your pet is one of those that tends to drink a lot of water overnight or in the morning. If your pet is a heavy water drinker, withhold water no more than 8 hours prior to surgery.
2. Please take your pet for a walk prior to surgery so he or she can empty their bladders.
3. If your pet is on medication, please check with the doctor or staff to see if he or she should get their morning medications.
4. We always recommend pain relief to our clients for their pets. To keep your overall surgery cost down you may be able to purchase their oral pain medication and start it the night before surgery.
5. We recommend bloodwork for all our patients. The most common tests we run are chemistry profile and the CBC. The Chemistry profile checks organ function and ensure that the liver and kidneys can handle anesthesia. The CBC will check for infection, anemia, and platelet numbers (for general information on clotting ability).
6. We also recommend IV fluids be give during surgery. This helps to protect internal organs and help your pet eliminate the anesthesia from their body after surgery.
7. If there is any history of problems with anesthesia or medications, please be sure that we are aware of them either when you set up the appointment or on the day of surgery.
8. Please call with questions or concerns so we can help you.
Is the anesthetic safe?
Today's modern anesthetic monitors have made surgery much safer than in the past. Here at Adamson Veterinary Services, we do a thorough physical exam on your pet before administering anesthetics, to ensure that a fever or other illness won't be a problem. We also adjust the amount and type of anesthetic used depending on the health of your pet. The handout on anesthesia explains this in greater detail.
Preanesthetic blood testing is important in reducing the risk of anesthesia. Every pet needs blood testing before surgery to ensure that the liver and kidneys can handle the anesthetic. Even apparently 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 it before it causes anesthetic or surgical complications. Animals will handle the anesthetic better if they receive IV fluids during surgery. If serious problems are detected, surgery can be postponed until the problem is corrected.
We offer preanesthetic in-house blood testing before surgery which we will go over with you when you bring your pet in. Our doctors prefer the more comprehensive screen, because it gives them the most information to ensure the safety of your pet. For geriatric or ill pets, additional blood tests, electrocardiograms, or x-rays may be required before surgery as well.
It is important that surgery be done on an empty stomach to reduce the risk of vomiting during and after anesthesia. You will need to withhold food (but not water) for at least 8 to 10 hours before surgery. Water can be left down for the pet until the morning of surgery.
Will my pet have stitches?
Most pets undergoing routine surgies will have sitches that will need to be removed. However, some patients will have absorbable sutures underneath the skin. These will dissolve on their own, and do not need to be removed later. Some surgeries, especially tumor removals, do require skin stitches. With either type of suture, you will need to keep an eye on the incision for swelling or discharge. Most male dogs will lick and sometimes chew out the stitches when neutered. We recommend you keep an Elizabethian collar (the lampshade looking thing) on him. Most femaile dogs and cats do not lick excessively or chew at the incision, but this is an occasional problem you will also need to watch for. If there are skin sutures, these will usually be removed 10 to 14 days after surgery. You will also need to limit your pet's activity level for a time and no baths are allowed for the first 10 days after surgery. Absorable sutures for routine surgeries can be requested by the owner.
Will my pet be in pain?
Anything that causes pain in people can be expected to cause pain in animals. Pets may not show the same symptoms of pain as people do; they usually don't whine or cry, but you can be sure they feel it. Pain medications needed will depend on the surgery performed. Major procedures require more pain relief than things like minor lacerations. WE STRONGLY recommend pain relief for all pets undergoing surgery. You may not be able to identify when your pet is in pain, but research shows that most pets will experience pain during the first 3 - 4 days post surgery.
For dogs, we may recommend an oral anti-inflamatory the day before surgery and several days after to lessen the risk of discomfort and swelling. We can start the pain medication on the day of surgery as well. We can give an injection of an anti-inflamatory drug about 15 - 20 minutes prior to surgery. You would then follow up with additional pain medication after surgery. We use newer medications, which are less likely to cause stomach upset and can be given even the morning of surgery. The cost of the medication ranges from $15 to $35, depending on the size of your dog.
For cats, we may recommend an injectable anti-inflamatory drug such as Metacam on the day of surgery. This medication is administered about 15 minutes prior to surgery and tends to last for approximately 3 days in cats. Recent advances in pain medications have allowed for better pain control in cats than ever before. After surgery, pain medication is given on a case by case basis. Any animal that appears painful will receive additional pain medication. The cost of this medication ranges between $10 to $15, depending on the size of your cat.
We occationally use narcotic patches for some surgeries in dogs as well. The cost will depend on the size of the dog. Injectable pain medications may also be used after surgery on both dogs and cats. Providing whatever pain relief is appropriate is a humane and caring thing to do for your pet.
We encourage you to call after surgery if you pet seems to be in pain and needs additional medication. Medicating pain will allow your pet to recover faster and feel better.
What other decisions do I need to make?
While your pet is under anesthesia, it is the ideal time to perform other minor 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, we will need to 10 to 15 minutes of your time to fill out paperwork and make decisions on the blood testing and other options available. You may stop in any day prior to surgery and fill out these forms in advance to speed up your drop off time.
When you pick up your pet after surgery you can also plan to spend about 10 minutes to go over your pet's home care needs.
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.
