Do not allow your pet to have any food after midnight the night prior to surgery. Water should be available until your pet comes into the hospital the morning of surgery. To prevent your pet from finding alternate food sources, pets should be kept inside the night prior to surgery, and leash-walked the morning of surgery. Fasting is VERY important to prevent possible vomiting and/or choking during and after surgery. Prescribed medications should be given, but without food.

Please drop-off your pet between 7:30-9:00 a.m. the morning of surgery. Drop-offs the night before surgery (3:00-5:00 p.m.) can be scheduled in advance.

Annual vaccines should be current for your pet's protection while hospitalized. A blood test for heartworms may be required because anesthesia given to a heartworm positive dog can be fatal. If you have not given heartworm preventatives consistently, or have not had a heartworm test run within the last year, your dog should be tested. If you choose not to have a heartworm check when one is indicated, a disclaimer must be signed to release us from liability.

A pre-surgical information sheet must be filled out at the time we admit your pet. This ensures that we have answers to pertinent questions. This will take a few minutes of your time, please plan for this additional time at drop-off.

Hospital/Surgical Information

Preparation: The skin surrounding the surgical area will be clipped and scrubbed with an antiseptic. Equipment used is sterlized, and surgery personnel will scrub with antiseptic and wear gloves, masks and gowns during the operation.

Anesthesia: Local or general anesthesia may be used. Some risk is involved depending upon the general condition of your pet (age, medical history, etc). Surgery may occur as scheduled or be delayed, depending upon the determination after the pre-surgical examination. Because we are concerned about your pet, we encourage you to have a pre-screen blood profile run on your animal ensuring your pet to be in the low-risk category during anesthesia. The blood profile detects problems of infection, anemia, kidney disease and liver disease, which may go undetected at a pre-surgical physical. These tests can be done before surgery to be sent to our reference lab or run in our office on the day of surgery. There is an additional fee for this test.

Heart/Respiration: These functions are monitored during the operation by electrocardiogram.

Post-Surgical Care: Both the staff and the doctor will check your pet routinely during the hospital stay, and again prior to discharge. You will be given post-surgical instructions to follow at home.