What You Need to Know Before Your Pet's Upcoming Surgery

Most surgeries performed at the Veterinary Emergency Hospital are done under emergency situations. Many people have questions about various aspects of their pet's surgery, and we hope this information will help. 

Is the anesthetic safe?

Today's modern anesthetic monitors have made surgery much safer than in the past.  Here at the Veterinary Emergency Hospital, we do a thorough physical exam on 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 needs blood testing before surgery to ensure that the liver and kidneys can handle the anesthetic.  Even apparently healthy animals can have serious organ system problems that cannot be detected without blood testing.  If there is a problem, it is much better to find it before it causes anesthetic or surgical complications.  Animals that have 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.  For geriatric or ill pets, additional blood tests, electrocardiograms, or x-rays may be required before surgery as well.

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 later.  Some surgeries do require skin stitches or staples.  Regardless if your pet has stitches or staples,  you will need to keep an eye on the incision for swelling, redness, heat, or discharge.  Most dogs and cats do not lick excessively or chew at the incision, but this is an occasional problem that will also need to be monitored.  If there are skin sutures or staples, 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 the first 10 days after surgery.

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 as people do; they usually don't whine or cry, but you can be sure they feel it.  Pain medications needed will depend on the surgery performed.  Major procedures require more pain relief than things like minor lacerations.

For dogs, we may recommend an oral anti-inflammatory the day after surgery and several days after to lessen the risk of discomfort and swelling.  We use newer medications, which are less likely to cause stomach upset.  A pain injection is given under the skin before surgery begins that usually lasts 24 hours.

Because cats do not tolerate standard pain medications such as aspirin, ibuprofen, or Tylenol, we are limited in what we can give them.  Recent advances in pain medications have allowed for better pain control in cats than ever before.  We administer a pain injection 10 minutes prior to surgery.  After surgery, cats can go home on an oral pain medication that can be given once daily.

We use narcotic patches for some surgeries in dogs and cats.  Injectable pain medications or continuous rate infusions (CRI) may also be used after surgery on both dogs and cats.  Using these options allow us to provide your pet with constant pain medication for extended periods of time if needed, to help aid in their healing process.   Providing whatever pain relief is appropriate is a humane and caring thing to do for your pet.

What else do I need to know?

When you pick up your pet after surgery you can plan to spend about 10 minutes going over your pet's home care needs with one of our knowledgeable staff members.  Typed instructions will be sent home with you and your pet explaining what needs to be monitored, what medications need to be given and when to schedule a follow up visit.  A copy of your take home instructions will also be faxed to your regular veterinary office.

We understand that most surgeries performed at the Veterinary Emergency Hospital are not planned and can occur under stressful situations.  Hopefully, the information provided here on our website can help eliminate some of your concerns and of course, we always want our clients to ask any and all questions they may have about their pet's upcoming surgery.