Have you ever wondered what a spay or neuter enTAILS?

The process begins the day before at 10pm when you will take away food and water in preparation for surgery.

Patients are admitted between 8am to 8:30 am on our surgery days, Monday to Friday. We will try to make this process as quick and streamlined as possible, since we know that many people have taken the time out of their busy mornings, on their way to work or school, in order to keep this important appointment for their pet.

To do this, we try to prepare and inform you on what to anticipate at previous vaccine visits, for instance. One of the things we may talk to you about is the option for pre-anesthetic blood testing. This blood test is done in our in-house lab and can tell us how the major organs are doing that metabolize anesthetic medications. It also tells us if the patient has normal red blood cell levels and no low grade infection or inflammation. If values are normal, it gives us a baseline for future reference, since each individual can have variations within a normal range. You are also helping to prepare for this day by continuing to read.

After being admitted, your pet is placed in a quiet and secure kennel while awaiting a pre-operative exam.

After the pre-operative exam, a sedative in the form of a small injection is given. An intravenous catheter is placed in each patient so that there is access for any medication that may need to be given quickly and for intravenous fluids. The intravenous fluids help maintain hydration and blood pressure after fasting for surgery, and helps dilute and flush the drugs that are given for anesthesia in order to help speed up recovery.

Once the sedative has taken effect, general anesthesia is initiated through an injectable anesthetic through the intravenous catheter and then maintained with an anesthetic gas called isoflurane. Every patient is intubated so that their airway is kept open and to help prevent aspiration while they are unconscious. Patients are connected to anesthetic monitoring equipment. The belly is then shaved and washed with antiseptic cleanser. Next, they are moved to the surgery room and a final preparation of the surgical site is made with antiseptic ointment and covered with sterile drapes. The veterinarian wears a sterile gown and gloves, along with a cap and mask. The hospital has an autoclave that sterilizes these reusable gowns and drapes, along with the surgical instruments.

After surgery and anesthesia, patients are given postoperative pain medication in the form of an injection and vitals are taken once more before being transferred back into the main treatment room so that they are directly in our sight as they recover.

Patients go home the same day before 6 pm (unless other arrangements have been made), so that they can recover comfortable at home under your watchful eye. We send our patients home with an individualized summary and pain medication.