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 their upcoming surgery.

Is the anesthetic safe?

Today's modern anesthetic monitors have made surgery much safer than in the past.  Here at Carrollton Animal Hospital, we do a thorough physical exam of 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.

Preanesthetic blood testing is important in reducing the risk of anesthesia.  Every pet should have blood testing before surgery to ensure the liver and kidneys can tolerate the anesthetic.  Even apparently healthy animals can have serious organ system problems that cannot be detected without blood testing.  It is important to be aware of any problems before it causes anesthetic or surgical complications.  Animals with minor dysfunction 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 two levels of in-house blood testing before surgery, which we will go over with you before surgery.  We prefer the more comprehensive screen because it gives us 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 performed while the stomach is empty.  This reduces the risk of vomiting during and after anesthesia.  You will need to withhold food for at least 8 to 10 hours before surgery.  Water can be provided for the pet 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 skin stitches.  With either type of suture, you will need to closely watch the incision for swelling or discharge.  Most pets 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 10 days after the surgery or until the stitches are removed.

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 however. They usually don't whine or cry, but you can be sure they feel it.  Pain medications prescribed will depend on the surgery performed.  Major procedures require more pain relief than others, such as minor lacerations.

Because pets do not tolerate standard pain medications such as aspirin, ibuprofen, or Tylenol like we do, we are limited as to what we can be prescribed.  Recent advances in pain medications have allowed for better pain control than ever before, even for cats.  We administer a pain injection prior to surgery.  After surgery, pain medication is given on a case-by-case basis.  Any animal that appears to be in pain will receive additional pain medication.

We routinely send home prescription oral pain medications with our surgery patients.  We feel that providing adequate pain relief is appropriate because it is is the humane and caring thing to do for your pet.

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 in advance to discuss this.  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 5 to 10 minutes to fill out paper-work and make decisions on the blood testing and other options available.  When you pick up your pet after surgery, you should plan to spend about 10 minutes with us so we can 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.  Please do not hesitate to call us with any questions about your pet's health, before or after surgery.