Surgery
It is normal to be concerned when your pet requires surgery and anesthesia. Understanding our procedures may help to lessen some of the worries. Pre-Visit Pharmaceuticals (PVPs) are medications that pets receive at home before coming to the veterinary hospital.
PVPs can make a better experience for your pet, you and your veterinarian. They help your pet feel calmer, more relaxed and less worried, which facilitate positive veterinary experiences resulting in reduced anxiety for future visits. They also reduce the doses of anesthetic drugs required for surgical or dental procedures which results in a safer and smoother surgery with a more comfortable recovery.
An overnight fast is important prior to anesthesia. Our fasting protocol is no food or treats after 8 pm the night before, but be sure to have fresh water available at all times. If your pet is on medication, check with his or her veterinarian whether those medications should be given the morning of the procedure. We admit our elective surgical patients between 8:00 and 8:15 am in the morning. Our reception and registered technician teams will confirm the procedure, review the estimate and make sure all your questions are answered. Please provide a phone number where we can reach you throughout the day. You are welcome to call at any time for an update.
Once your pet is admitted, and after a few minutes of getting to know our technicians and technician assistances, a small area of hair on the front leg is shaved so we can place a sterile intravenous catheter. This allows us to collect a blood sample, administer medications and provide fluid support painlessly while with us. In order to create a safe custom anesthetic plan for your pet and their needs, some data needs to be collected, including but not limited to a physical examination, bloodwork and chest radiographs for senior pets or those with heart disease.
Up to 4 procedures are scheduled on any given day. We consider the patient's anesthetic risk, anxiety, age, and type of procedure when triaging the patients' order to receive their procedure.
We advocate for appropriate pain control and ensure our patients experience no discomfort post-surgery. This often means they are just too groggy to return home immediately. Post surgery, our trained team monitor them closely for a few hours till it is safe for them to return home with you. Discharge times vary, throughout the afternoon and early evening.
Please call the hospital (604) 734-7744 if you have any questions. Thank you.