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?

Anesthesia is as safe as you choose it to be.  While we can never totally eliminate all risk from anesthesia, there are many things we can do to help make anesthesia a sure bet.  A balanced anesthetic protocol,  intravenous catheter and intra-op fluid support, and pre-anesthetic bloodwork are three ways we can reduce the risks of anesthesia.    For a detailed discussion of these safety measures, click here.   When combined with appropriate patient monitoring, anesthesia becomes a much safer proposition.  For a detailed summary of what appropriate patient monitoring is, click here.

Will my pet be in pain?

The short answer is "yes." Surgery hurts, and there is no way around that.  Some clinics apparently don't believe that surgery hurts, or that it hurts but doesn't hurt very long, because they don't prescribe take-home pain medication.  Some folks will tell you that laser surgery is dramatically less painful.  I believe that if this were true,  the human surgeons would have all thrown away their scalpels.  This hasn't happened. 

At Sunnyside Veterinary Clinic, we believe that surgery hurts.  Althought your pet may not be screaming in agony, we believe that surgery can cause significant pain that one injection is not going to take care of.   That is why we always prescribe take-home pain medication, and recommend strongly that pre-emptive pain medication be used.  For a more detailed explanation of pain in animals, click on the Pets in Pain link.  Click here for a video presentation on pain management by the pain management team at the Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine entitled Is Your Pet in Pain?".



At Sunnyside Veterinary Clinic, we are leaders in pain management.  Pain medications will be administered according to the surgery performed.  Major procedures require more pain relief than things like minor lacerations.  We have a variety of medications at our disposal, including non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, opioid pain killers, continuous-rate infusions, pain patches, epidurals, and local blocks.

Can my pet eat before surgery?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?

Skin sutures are still the best, most reliable method of closing skin.  They do have to be removed.  While this is a free office visit, we do ask that you schedule an appointment.  We generally remove sutures 10 days post-op.  In the meanwhile, 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.  No baths are allowed until the sutures are removed.


What other decisions do I need to make?

While your pet is under anesthesia, it is the ideal time to perform other minor procedures, such as  ear cleaning, or implanting an identification microchip.  If you would like an estimate for these extra services, please call ahead of time.  This is especially important if the person dropping the pet off for surgery is not the primary decision maker for the pet's care.

When you bring your pet in for surgery, we will need 10 minutes of time for the pre-surgery exam and consultation to make decisions on the blood testing and other options available.  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.

Please don't hesitate to call us with any questions about your pet's health or surgery.



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