Surgical and Dental Procedures
Pre-anesthesia instructions & check-in process
The day before your pet’s anesthetic procedure, you will be asked to fast your pet starting at midnight. Your pet should have no food or water after midnight on the day of their procedure. Some water is ok, and if your pet takes a morning medication, they may have that medication with a small snack to prevent an upset stomach. Our drop-off times are between 7 AM and 9 AM. Please plan to be at our office for at least 10 minutes so our client service representative can properly check your pet in and go over paperwork with you. Once the doctor has worked with your pet, they will call you to go over the procedure and other instructions. The majority of pets who come in for a surgery or dental procedure go home that very same day, but with some restrictions and additional home care requirements including medication.
Anesthesia, sedation, & post-op care at home
We administer anesthesia and/or sedation for all surgical and dental procedures, any procedure that could be considered uncomfortable for your pet, or difficult for our doctors to perform if not sedated. Your pet may be slightly sedated for several hours following surgery, and may experience discomfort or confusion. To-go-home medications will be labeled with detailed dosage instructions; please call if you have any medication questions or concerns. We typically administer injectable medications such as Rimadyl for dogs, or oral medications such as Onsior for cats for pain management, but often additional oral medication(s) needs to be continued at home. If your cat received the injectable pain medication Simbadol, they will usually be slightly sedated for approximately 24 hours after surgery. It is recommended that someone is able to stay home with your pet upon bringing them home after surgery for the rest of the day; Your pet may also need help on stairs.
Post-surgery activity & incision site care
For routine surgeries such as spays and neuters, your pet can eat and drink that same night. Bandages on your pet’s leg from where the catheter was placed and removed should be removed later than evening upon arriving home. You may see some some mild, red-tinged fluid near the incision site for a few days, which is normal. If you notice excessive redness and/or pus discharge from the an incision site, please call our office. Incision sites do not need to be cleaned. Excessive activity after surgery can cause the incision site to fill with a sterile fluid; For this reason, we recommend limiting off-leash activity, such as running, jumping, and play-wrestling. Light inside activity is ok.
Suture aftercare & e-collar guidelines
If your pet has external sutures, they should wear an e-collar (“Elizabethan Collar”, also known as a cone) to prevent licking and chewing the incision site. Suture removal should be scheduled for 12-14 days after surgery. Neutered cats do not usually need to wear an e-collar. E-collars can be removed for eating, but should be re-applied afterward. If your pet will not tolerate an e-collar, other options include an inflatable collar which resembles a neck pillow, onsies, and t-shirts worn backwards.
Dental extraction aftercare
After dental procedures that include tooth extractions, your pet should only eat canned or soft food for approximately five days after the procedure, which we can provide to you. They can eat the same day upon arriving home. Stitches in the mouth will dissolve and fall out on their own. You may notice a mild amount of red-tinged fluid from the mouth for 1-2 days. Recheck appointments should be scheduled 14 days after dentals with tooth extractions.