What to expect when your pet goes to the vet for a surgical procedure
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Your pet will be getting a general anaesthetic and will spend the whole day with us when they come in for most surgical procedures. We get quite booked up in our surgical department, so expect a 6-8 week wait for routine surgery.
What happens on the day?
- Dropping your pet off. We will have advised you of the rules around fasting and when to drop your pet off. A nurse will check how you would like to be contacted while your pet stays with us. Please take care to ensure the numbers we have in our system are current and correct. Please ensure you have your phone on and with you at all times while your pet stays with us. We will also ask you if you would like us to perform pre-anaesthetic blood testing. The blood test will give us information about the liver and kidneys, which is important when they will be getting an anaesthetic. We strongly recommend the blood test if you have an older pet, over 8 years old. There will be additional fees associated with blood testing.
- Waiting in the hospital. On any given day we may have up to 20 animals dropped off for different procedures. Each pet will be admitted into the hospital ward. They will be given their own cage with a blanket. If you wish to leave items from home with them please understand they may be soiled if your pet vomits on them, and could get lost in our washing. If your pet is anxious, we often put a blanket over the front of their cage (or give cats a cubby to hide in), and will try to do their procedure earlier in the day if the schedule permits. Sometimes routine procedures are delayed due to an emergency coming in. We do our best to keep you informed if your pets procedure will be later than planned. Your dog is regularly taken out to the toilet, and your cat will have access to a litter box.
- The pre-anaesthetic examination. We will listen for any heart murmurs or arrhythmias. We will listen to their lungs. If there is anything of concern we will call you to discuss.
- Getting the blood test, if required. We run these in-house, and will have the results within 30 minutes. If there are any changes in the bloods that concern us, we will call you to discuss.
- Getting the premed. A “premed” is a mix of sedative and pain-relieving medications which are given as an injection under the skin approximately 30 minutes-two hours before your pet goes through to surgery. It helps their body get ready to receive the general anaesthetic. Your pet will feel quite relaxed after the effects kick in. Your dog may vomit as this is a common reaction to morphine in dogs. This is normal, and is usually very mild.
- The general anaesthetic. Your pet will be taken through to the surgery, where a nurse will hold them while they get an injection of anaesthetic into the vein. This will make your pet go to sleep. A breathing tube will be inserted into the windpipe, and tied in place. Your pet will then breathe in a mixture of oxygen and anaesthetic gas which will keep them nicely asleep throughout the entire procedure. A nurse will be monitoring your pet the whole time, taking note of blood pressure, heart rate and breathing. Often, especially if your pet is older, they will be on a fluid drip until after they wake up. They lie on an electric blanket, and are covered in fleecy blankets to keep their body temperature as warm as possible.
- The surgical prep. A nurse will clip the hair from around the surgical site. This area needs to be much bigger than the area that will be operated on so we can avoid any contamination of our sterile site. Don’t worry, hair grows back! After the area is clipped, a nurse will scrub the site. We often use iodine for this, so don’t worry if your pet looks a little orange afterwards. It will wash off eventually.
- The surgical procedure. If you have any questions about the procedure your pet will be getting, please ask a member of our staff. Procedures can be relatively quick, or can last several hours.
- Your pet will get pain relief and often antibiotic injections if we feel this is necessary.
- The anaesthetic is turned off and your pet will slowly wake up over a few minutes. If they show signs of nausea (this is uncommon), they will be given medication to help with this.
- They are kept in a cage in recovery, where they are closely monitored until they are awake enough to go back to their own cage.
- We contact you (either by phonecall or text – your preference) once your pet is fully awake, and we will give you a time to pick them up. Sometimes it may be necessary for your pet to stay the night, especially if their procedure isn’t performed until late in the day.
- Your pet will go home with some instructions for aftercare, and medications if needed.