Progressive Approach, Every Time

Any form of soft tissue surgery requires a lot of care for your pet before, during, and after the actual procedure to ensure the very best outcomes.  Staying true to our modern, family-style medical approach, we do the following process on each and every patient to safeguard your precious pet during their surgical stay.

Pre-Anesthesia

• Age-appropriate blood work ensures no organ or immune disease that could complicate an anesthesic procedure
• Intravenous catheter and fluids maintain blood pressure and gives instant access for administering surgical drugs if needed
• Customized dosing to each procedure based on species, size, pre-anesthetic findings reduce many risk factors found in "no-frills" or one-size-fits-all protocols

Intra-operative 

• Thermal support to maintain your pet's body heat include Bair-hugger blankets, IV fluid warming, and direct contact heat bags
• Continuous EKG, oxygen saturation, capnography, and temperature monitoring
• CO2 laser surgery reduces bleeding risks, painful nerve endings, swelling, and overall surgical time
• And our best asset: a dedicated technician that follows your pet from surgical induction to extubation!  No unattended recoveries until we're sure your pet is breathing well on their own and sitting up in their cozy recovery blankets

Post-Operative

• Supervised recovery the entire day - all recoveries directly in our high-vigilance area for minimum 3 hours post operative
• Multimodal pain support because we pledge to treat pain even when they try to hide it
• Post surgical spandex suits provide comfort and protection for any wounds they will cover, versus a traditional collar/inner tube around the neck to protect those wounds a suit will not.

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Spay / Neuter 

Spaying and neutering is necessary for nearly every pet, although the timing of your pet's alteration surgery may be different than you think!  Every breed, and even an individual pet within a certain breed, requires special attention to the pros and cons of surgical alteration at certain times of their lives.  The end result though is to ensure your pet has the longest and healthiest version of life possible.  So why exactly DO we spay/neuter?

Ovariohysterectomy / OHE / Spay

Removes the ovaries, oviducts, and majority of the uterus down to the level of, but not including the cervix

What if it's done too late?

• Mammary cancer - up to 35% risk after just 3 or more heat cycles.  Dogs have up to 50% of their tumors turn cancerous and cats can be up to 80% malignant once they form!
• Pyometra - severe life-threatening infection that most often occurs in middle-age to older (>5yo) intact females after a heat cycle but can happen at any age
• MUCH bigger surgery, often an emergency, more expensive, and more recovery time for your pet

What if it's done too early?

• Very often, nothing at all...
• However, we take extra precautions in a handful of large and giant breed dogs, golden retrievers, shepherds, and a few others where we strategically reduce an increase in hip and knee problems, and a small percentage of skin or lymph node cancers.  We will discuss this in detail at your puppy visits as every family and every pet have specific considerations
• Some individuals need a single heat to improve their genitourinary anatomy or immune status

Orchiectomy / Castration / Neuter

Removes the testicles and part of the spermatic cord, including the vas deferens and muscular tunic associated with the testicles.

What if it's done too late?

• BPH - up to 95% of intact males will develop signs of BPH by age 9.  These include difficulty urinating, constipation, and in increased risk of prostatitis
• Prostatitis - A painful and often recurrent infection within the prostate due mostly to chronic BPH and bacteria entering the prostate.  If left unchecked, can lead to severely painful and dangerous prostate abscesses.  
• Testicular cancer risks - Intact males will occasionally get one of three types of testicular cancers, each of which carry different prognoses.  This risk increases dramatically if your pet is diagnosed as cryptorchid (undescended testicle).
• Behavioral concerns - Many intact males have a risk of developing undesirable behaviors if neutered too late, including marking vertical surfaces, dog-dog aggression, tendency to run away/roam, and more

What if it's done too early?

• Very often, nothing at all...
• However, we take extra precautions in a handful of large and giant breed dogs, golden retrievers, shepherds, and a few others where we strategically reduce an increase in hip and knee problems, and a small percentage of skin or lymph node cancers.  We will discuss this in detail at your puppy visits as every family and every pet have specific considerations
• Some individuals need testosterone to fully develop their breed standards for show-dogs such as Mastiffs and Rottweilers
  
• A note on behavior - we do not generally see any increase risk of developing bad behavior AFTER a neuter, and dogs will maintain their currently learned disposition after the procedure but also hopefully avoid the negative effects mentioned to the left. 

We have customized conversations about the pros and cons of each approach for YOUR pet and help establish then act on the greater risk.  In the end, we all want the longest life with the least illness we can provide!

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Advanced Soft Tissue Surgery

We provide a wide variety of soft tissue surgeries including tumor removals, amputations, many types of gastrointestinal procedures, laceration repairs, eyelid surgery, brachycephalic surgery, and more...
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A detailed section of these cases will be coming soon!