Pre-surgical Information

The week prior to surgery:

• If your dog requires bathing or grooming, consider having it done now. After surgery, bathing is not allowed for 2 weeks. Bathing and grooming prior to surgery can also decrease the risk for infection, as short, clean fur harbors less bacteria. The cleaner they are, the better.
• Keep an eye out for any signs of illness. Skin infections, vomiting, diarrhea, fever, or injury will result in rescheduling surgery
• Keep up-to-date with your pet’s flea and tick prevention. If your pet has fleas, surgery will have to be rescheduled
• Consider scheduling pre-anesthetic blood work. Bloodwork helps monitor the status of your pet’s major organs which help their body metabolize anesthesia. It also helps determine their healing ability, blood clotting ability, and general health status and can be the baseline for your pet by which we can monitor trends throughout their life. Bloodwork is required within 3 months of anesthesia for any pet over 8 years of age. If you do not want to come in for this ahead of time, it can be done the day of surgery.
• Get your home ready for your pet’s recovery. Prepare a quiet, comfortable area where food and water are close by. Your pet’s activity will have to be restricted for 2 weeks post-operatively. For dogs, this means they must only be let out ON A LEASH for toileting and should have only supervised, limited access to stairs. Running, jumping and off-leash exercise can cause incisions to swell or re-open and should be avoided. Additional medications can be provided if you think your pet will have difficulty complying with these restrictions.

For cats, make sure their litter box is accessible without having to climb stairs.

• Purchase a surgical bodysuit. Your pet must not be able to lick or scratch their incision for 10-14 days after surgery. Making sure this isn’t happening is your responsibility, as you will be monitoring your pet at home. We will provide your pet with a plastic E-collar to prevent them from licking their incision. These can be very effective, yet some pets are skillful at removing or getting around them, or they can be very stressful for your pet. Surgical bodysuits can be ordered online and are useful for incisions on the body or upper legs. They are still not 100% effective as some pets can get them off or scratch through them. We typically do not find inflatable collars to be helpful, as most pets can reach their incisions while wearing them. If your pet’s incision is in an unusual area, the surgeon will make other recommendations as needed. If you purchase a bodysuit or E-collar, please bring it with you so we can make sure it will be effective.
• Know the cost of the procedure. If you have not been provided with a printed or emailed, itemized estimate, please call. Payment in full is due at the time of patient pick-up.
• If your pet is on medication, call to find out if it should be given the day of surgery.
• Consider starting a probiotic. Diarrhea or constipation can happen after anesthesia. We recommend starting Fortiflora, Advita, Visbiome, or Proviable 2 days prior to the procedure and administering for 7 days.

The day of surgery:

• Do not feed after midnight on the day of the procedure. Some patients will vomit under anesthesia and risk developing pneumonia. If your pet has been fed the morning of surgery, you will need to reschedule
• Walk your dog prior to drop-off. Stress can cause your pet to have an accident in their cage or, once anesthetized, they can have a bowel movement that they are not in control of. This can soil their fur and, potentially, contaminate their incision with bacteria. Most dogs prefer to poop at home.
• Drop-off time is from 8:00-8:15 AM. Please allow 15 minutes for check in. Other patients will be getting dropped off as well and you will be asked to sign a surgical consent form.
• Let us know if you would like bloodwork as discussed above.
• Your pet will be with us until late afternoon. You will be called after the procedure for an update and to give you a pick-up time. This is determined by when your pet’s procedure was performed, the length/complexity of the procedure, and how quickly they recover from anesthesia. Pick-up times are typically around 4:00 PM. We are open until 5:00 PM.
• Your pet will be shaved at the surgery site and on their leg if an IV catheter was placed.
• You will receive printed post-operative instructions which a technician will review with you at discharge. Again, please allow at least 15 minutes during pick-up time.