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Surgery & Anesthesia

 

We understand that your pets’ surgical procedure can be scary!  We strive to make surgery day as stress and fear-free as possible by educating you about what will happen while your pet is with us.  Your pets’ safety and well-being is our number one priority; therefore, we have stringent anesthetic protocols in place. We always perform a thorough physical exam on your pet before anesthesia is performed.  This ensures a new medical condition hasn't developed since your pets’ previous exam and allows the veterinarian to make any adjustments to the drug protocol based on these findings.

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Preanesthetic blood testing is extremely important in reducing anesthetic risks. We require all surgical patients to have blood testing performed prior to going under anesthesia.  Even apparently healthy animals can have serious medical issues that cannot be detected without blood testing.  If there is an underlying medical issue, we will utilize that information to determine the safest anesthetic protocol for your pet or may even elect to postpone the procedure.

 

All pets undergoing surgery have an IV catheter in place with fluids being administered.  This allows us to ensure your pet stays hydrated during their procedure and also helps to keep their blood pressure regulated.  An IV catheter can also be used to administer medications during your pets’ procedure.  For geriatric or pets with pre-existing conditions, additional blood tests, electrocardiograms, or x-rays may also be recommended before surgery.

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It is important that your pet has an empty stomach prior to anesthesia.  One of the unfortunate side effects of anesthesia is nausea and we don't want your pet vomiting while they are sedated.  You will be asked to withhold food from your pet for about 8-10 hours prior to anesthesia.  It us usually okay for your pet to have access to water overnight as we want your pet to be well hydrated prior to anesthesia.  

 

Some of the surgical procedures we offer here at Forest Heights include:

 

  • Spay (Ovariohysterectomy)

  • Neuter (Castration)

  • Mass Removal

  • Soft Tissue Surgery

  • Stomach Tacking

  • Minor Orthopedic Surgery

  • Enucleation 

  • Abdominal Exploratory

  • Cherry Eye

  • Entropion/Ectropion

  • Aural Hematoma

  • Hernia Repair

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