At St. Mary’s Veterinary Hospital, we perform routine surgery (spays, neuters and cat declaws),  soft tissue surgery and orthopedic surgery. Whether the surgery is a routine procedure or an involved orthopedic surgery, you can rest assured that your pet is receiving the best veterinary surgical care possible.     

For all routine (elective) surgeries, your pet must be up-to-date on the distemper and rabies vaccinations. If these were not given at our hospital, please bring proof of vaccination at the time of admission.

Patient Evaluation and Pre-Operative Care

Pre-Anesthesia Blood Testing: To lower the risk associated with anesthesia, we recommend that all patients undergoing anesthesia, receive pre-anesthesia blood testing to ensure the liver and kidneys are properly functioning. Abnormalities of these organs cannot be detected by physical exam alone and cause increased anesthetic risk. Patients with pre-existing medical conditions and / or are 6 years and older are required at St. Mary’s Veterinary Hospital to have this testing prior to anesthesia administration.

IV Fluids: To further reduce anesthesia risk, we also recommend the administration of IV fluids during anesthesia to maintain normal blood pressure and allow the rapid administration of drugs should an emergency situation develop. All non-elective surgeries are required to have a fluid catheter in place. This service is optional for all elective surgeries, but is required for all patients 10 years of age or older.

Physical Exam: Your pet will receive a complete physical exam to ensure it is able to undergo anesthesia. Anesthetic and pain management plans are determined and documented at this time. Anesthesia: Anesthesia begins when a breathing tube is placed, and the pet receives oxygen and anesthetic gas. Anesthesia allows us to perform surgery or other procedures on pets while preventing them from feeling anxiety or pain. We use a variety of anesthetic drugs and gases according to the patient's needs. All patients undergoing anesthesia are closely monitored by state of the art monitoring equipment and well trained technicians during the surgical procedure and in the recovery period until the patient is once again fully awake.

Preparation for Sterile Surgery

After being anesthetized, your pet will be prepared for sterile surgery. Just as in human medicine, the patient’s surgical area is prepared for surgery by clipping the hair and scrubbing the skin with a surgical scrub solution to establish an aseptic surgery environment. We take maintaining an aseptic environment during surgery very seriously. All our surgical instruments are cleaned and sterilized with ultrasonic instrument cleaners and high temperature autoclaves.

Surgery

Our large surgery suite is equipped with two surgery tables, patient heating pads, IV fluid administration pumps, oxygen lines and a gas scavenging system, vital sign monitoring equipment including cardiac, respiratory and blood pressure monitoring machines, a laser surgery unit, an endoscope and sterile instrument packs for soft tissue and orthopedic surgery.

Laser Surgery

Laser surgery over traditional surgery offers the following benefits: * The laser seals blood vessels and nerve endings resulting in less bleeding, pain, and swelling after surgery. * Some surgeries, such as removal of small tumors or warts, can be done entirely with the laser and do not require stitches.

* Laser cat declaw surgery has significantly reduced the complications and discomfort associated with this surgery. The difference between a laser declaw and a traditional declaw is apparent almost immediately after the surgery. Cats who had a laser declaw are much more comfortable and almost immediately start walking on their feet.

Pain Management

Our doctors establish a pain management plan for your pet for both before and after surgery.  Pain medication increases your pet's comfort and speeds recovery from the surgery. Our pain prevention protocols will vary depending on the pet’s type of surgery and initial physical condition and pain status.