What to do to prepare for your pet's procedure:
Please remember to remove your pet’s access to food after midnight the night before their procedure but do not restrict access to water. If your pet is on chronic medication, you may be instructed to administer medications prior to arriving at the clinic. Admission time is between 7:30-8:00am the morning of their procedure . Upon check-in, you will be asked if you would like to select the following options:
Anesthetic Procedure Options
Medication types and quantities will be determined by your surgeon the day of your pet’s procedure. Pain management is an essential component of compassionate care in veterinary medicine, and your patient will receive pain medication tailored to them based on their medical history and type of procedure. Any time a patient undergoes a surgical procedure, there is trauma to the tissues and pain relief is a critical element of the healing process. The pain injection your pet will receive offers 12-24 hours of pain and inflammation management while the patient recovers before they’re able to take oral medications. Oral tablets will also be prescribed to control pain and inflammation at home. Pain negatively affects pets and untreated pain can lead to prolonged healing and recovery. If your pet is already on medications or has had any previous reactions to certain medications, please notify our staff at check in so we can best devise a pain management plan.
Items that are optional for you to accept or to decline for your patient's anesthetic procedure at check-in include:
-Kidney tests, along with physical exam findings, will help assess your pet’s hydration status and kidney function. Results may reveal kidney disease and its severity.
-Liver results can reveal problems in the liver, gallbladder and/or bile ducts. Potential causes include inflammation, toxin exposure and certain endocrine disorders. Additional tests may be indicated to determine the cause of the liver test abnormalities.
-Electrolyte results can reveal evidence for Addison’s disease, acid-base imbalances and certain other medical problems.
-A complete blood count (CBC) measures white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets. Measuring these components can reveal things such as inflammation, inability to fight infection, certain blood disorders, anemia, and clotting issues.
2. Intravenous Catheter and Fluids
Intravenous fluid administration helps keep anesthesia safe. Even a well hydrated pet will likely benefit from IV fluids while anesthetized for surgery or a dental cleaning-- a patient cannot drink while asleep, and their blood pressure can change rapidly during anesthesia. Adding more fluids to a pet’s body is one of the many ways veterinary teams can correct low blood pressure and ensure the best possible outcome. An IV catheter also offers a direct port to safely administer induction medications, as well as emergency drugs if needed.
3. E-Collar (also known as the “Cone of Shame”)
An e-collar keeps your pet from licking or chewing (or rubbing/scratching if the incision involves the face, eyes, or ears) at the incision site to reduce risk of infection or opening the incision site, potentially resulting in a second surgery.
Items that are optional for you to accept or to decline for your patient's anesthetic procedure at check-in include:
- Preanesthetic Bloodwork
-Kidney tests, along with physical exam findings, will help assess your pet’s hydration status and kidney function. Results may reveal kidney disease and its severity.
-Liver results can reveal problems in the liver, gallbladder and/or bile ducts. Potential causes include inflammation, toxin exposure and certain endocrine disorders. Additional tests may be indicated to determine the cause of the liver test abnormalities.
-Electrolyte results can reveal evidence for Addison’s disease, acid-base imbalances and certain other medical problems.
-A complete blood count (CBC) measures white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets. Measuring these components can reveal things such as inflammation, inability to fight infection, certain blood disorders, anemia, and clotting issues.
2. Intravenous Catheter and Fluids
Intravenous fluid administration helps keep anesthesia safe. Even a well hydrated pet will likely benefit from IV fluids while anesthetized for surgery or a dental cleaning-- a patient cannot drink while asleep, and their blood pressure can change rapidly during anesthesia. Adding more fluids to a pet’s body is one of the many ways veterinary teams can correct low blood pressure and ensure the best possible outcome. An IV catheter also offers a direct port to safely administer induction medications, as well as emergency drugs if needed.
3. E-Collar (also known as the “Cone of Shame”)
An e-collar keeps your pet from licking or chewing (or rubbing/scratching if the incision involves the face, eyes, or ears) at the incision site to reduce risk of infection or opening the incision site, potentially resulting in a second surgery.
Mass Removal
If your patient is having a mass removed, a histopathology is optional to you.
Histopathology is the microscopic examination of tissue samples removed from abnormal lumps, growths, or tumors to determine if they are benign (non-cancerous) or malignant (cancerous). It serves as the gold standard for diagnosing diseases, identifying cellular changes, and determining tumor grade and staging, which guide treatment decisions. Our biopsies are sent off to an outside lab for precise identification of the nature of a mass. Their reports include the tumor type, aggressiveness, invasiveness, and whether it has been completely removed (margin assessment).
Histopathology is the microscopic examination of tissue samples removed from abnormal lumps, growths, or tumors to determine if they are benign (non-cancerous) or malignant (cancerous). It serves as the gold standard for diagnosing diseases, identifying cellular changes, and determining tumor grade and staging, which guide treatment decisions. Our biopsies are sent off to an outside lab for precise identification of the nature of a mass. Their reports include the tumor type, aggressiveness, invasiveness, and whether it has been completely removed (margin assessment).
Dental Radiographs
Just like pre-anesthetic blood work and an intravenous catheter, dental radiographs are also optional to you.
Dental radiographs are an important and necessary tool in evaluating tooth health and determining diagnoses of dental issues. They give veterinarians a tremendous amount of information and increase the quality of dental care in our patients. Dental radiographs give detailed examinations of the internal anatomy of the teeth that we cannot see-- such as the roots and bone that surrounds a tooth. They help diagnose conditions such as broken roots, cysts, bone loss, tooth resorption, early tumors, unerupted teeth, and teeth that may look healthy but are compromised internally.
Dental radiographs are an important and necessary tool in evaluating tooth health and determining diagnoses of dental issues. They give veterinarians a tremendous amount of information and increase the quality of dental care in our patients. Dental radiographs give detailed examinations of the internal anatomy of the teeth that we cannot see-- such as the roots and bone that surrounds a tooth. They help diagnose conditions such as broken roots, cysts, bone loss, tooth resorption, early tumors, unerupted teeth, and teeth that may look healthy but are compromised internally.