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 pet's upcoming surgery.

Is the anesthetic safe?

Today's modern anesthetic monitors have made surgery much safer than in the past.  Here at ARKLE Veterinary Care, LLC, 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.  The handout on anesthesia explains this in greater detail.

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.

We offer two levels of preanesthetic testing before surgery, which we will go over with you when you bring your pet in.  We recommend having the testing performed at least 1 week before the planned surgery. By doing this, a larger, more comprehensive yet economical panel may be performed by our off-site reference laboratory. The more comprehensive screen gives more information to help ensure the safety of your pet.  For geriatric or ill pets, additional tests, electrocardiograms, or x-rays may be required before surgery as well.

It is important that surgery be done on an empty stomach to reduce 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 left down 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 later.  Some surgeries, especially tumor removals, do require skin stitches.  With either type of suture, you will need to keep an eye on the incision for swelling or discharge.  Most dogs and cats 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 or swimming are allowed for the first 10 days after surgery. If you have more than one pet, especially if they play together or groom each other, you may need to keep them supervised or separated while the surgical incision is healing.

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-inflamatory 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 and can be given even the morning of surgery.  The cost of the medication varies, depending on the size of your dog.

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, pain medication is given on a case by case basis.  Any animal that appears painful will receive additional pain medication.

Injectable pain medications may be used during or after surgery on both dogs and cats.  Providing whatever pain relief is appropriate is a humane and caring thing to do for your pet.

Why should my pet have an IV catheter and fluids during their procedure?

An IV catheter  provides immediate access to your pet's circulatory system. If there is an unexpected problem, or we need to administer medicine to your pet and have it take effect as quickly as possible, a direct line to your pet's blood stream provides that access. Administering fluids in the IV catheter will help protect your pet against low blood pressure (a common response by the body to general anesthesia), and will help them recover more quickly from the anesthesia.   An IV catheter and fluids is mandatory for all but the briefest of surgeries at ARKLE. To keep expenses down for owners with serious financial limitations, the extra expense for the IV catheter is a strongly recommended but not required part of Cobb County Humane Society Spay/Neuter Certificate surgeries. 

Planning your pet's procedure
Anesthetic procedures are by appointment and are performed on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Surgical cases need to check into the clinic the morning of their procedure between 7:30 and 8:00 am. Patients are monitored during and after their procedures until they are recovered enough to go home. Most of our elective surgical cases go home the same day as their procedure, usually between 4 and 5:30 pm.

   Preanesthetic preparation
Unless directed otherwise by ARKLE staff, all anesthetic cases need to have no solid food for 12 hours before check-in. They may have free access to water. If your pet is on oral medications, please ask us when you should give the last dose before check-in.

We will call you the night before your scheduled surgery appointment, to confirm the appointment for your pet's procedure and remind you of the pre-operative care instructions. We will also do our best to answer any questions you might have about your pet's procedure.

     Additional treatments
While your pet is under anesthesia, it is the ideal time to perform other minor procedures, such as ear cleaning, small growth removals or implanting a microchip for permanent indentification.  (All patients anesthetized at ARKLE will receive a nail trim at no additional charge, if needed.)  If you would like an estimate for these extra services, please call before the day of surgery.  This is especially important if the person dropping the pet off for surgery is not the primary decision maker for the pet's care.

   Special dietary needs
If your pet is on a special diet, or has food sensitivities, please remind us of this at check in. Bringing a small amount of your pet's favorite food or usual treat is also a good idea. When they have recovered from anesthesia sufficiently, we will offer your pet food, unless the procedure they had done makes this unwise.

   Helping to put your pet at ease
Pets are sometimes anxious away from home. You may bring a T-shirt, pillow case or other small, washable item that has your scent on it. We will put this in the cage with your pet so they will feel more at ease. Please do not bring anything that cannot withstand regular machine washing or be disposed of, as sometimes recovering pets do not have full control of their bodies, and the item may come in contact with urine, feces or other bodily fluids from your pet. 

   The check in process
When you bring your pet in for surgery, we will need to 5 to 10 minutes of time to fill out paperwork and make decisions on options available for your pet during that day.  When you pick up your pet after surgery you can also plan to spend about 10 minutes to go over your pet's home care needs.  For mass removals, please mark the mass or show it/them to the health care team member that takes your pet back for their procedure at check in.