
What to Expect the Day of Surgery
How to prepare for your pet’s surgical procedure:
Anesthesia and surgery can be a stressful time for you and your pet, so we want to help prepare both of you. Please read through this handout to find out what to expect with your pet’s surgery.
The Night Before Surgery:
If your pet needs to be limited in their movement during the recovery process, we recommend preparing now for an enclosed area of your home using their crate. This ensures that once you are home from surgery, you don’t need to run around to get things set up.
It’s important for most surgeries that your pet is fasted (has not eaten any food) for approximately six hours before surgery. This is because if your pet becomes nauseous from the anesthesia, they may vomit during surgery, which increases the risk of your pet developing aspiration pneumonia.
Your pet should not eat after 12:00 am (midnight) the night before surgery or as directed by our veterinarian; if your pet is under 6 months old or diabetic please ask the veterinary nurse about special feeding instructions. Water can always be given free-choice until the time of surgery.
If your pet somehow does eat after 3am the day of surgery, please let our team know that they did, so they can take additional precautions. Depending on the amount of food ingested, we may decide to delay the procedure to later in the day, or another day, depending on when the food was ingested.
Finally, ensure that everyone is well-rested before surgery. If both you and your pet get enough sleep, it will make surgery much less stressful for everyone.
The Morning of Surgery:
Only medications that are critical to your pet’s health, such as heart or seizure medications should be administered the morning of surgery. Please give medications as early as possible the morning of surgery with a very small amount of food (about 2 teaspoons), if needed. If your pet is diabetic, please discuss the insulin dosage with our veterinarian prior to surgery.
Please bring any current medications with you to the hospital the day of surgery. Please make sure that you inform us of any medications your pet has been given the day of surgery and list all medications they take (including herbs and supplements), when they were last given, and any special food or allergies, while meeting with the surgical veterinary nurse.
Bring your pet to the hospital on the morning of surgery between 8:00am-9:00am. Please plan to spend a few minutes talking with the surgical veterinary nurse when you bring in your pet. Typically, this meeting lasts for about 15 minutes. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have during this time. If you have any questions for our veterinarian, a message can be left, and a return phone call will be made prior to surgery. During this visit, you will be asked to sign the Surgical Consent Form, and we will collect the low end of the surgical estimate (cash, credit or debit card, no checks are accepted). The remainder of the balance will be due upon discharge of your pet from the hospital. This is only an estimate, and additional charges may accrue during your pet’s hospital stay. We will make every attempt to inform you if the charges exceed the estimate provided prior to discharge. If the hospital stay is extended for any reason, daily financial updates will be provided, and an additional deposit may be required if charges exceed the initial deposit left.
Please do not leave personal items such as leashes, collars, blankets, or toys with your pet that you want to stay clean and/or be returned to you. If you choose to leave such items, there is a chance they may be lost or soiled. We cannot accept responsibility for these items, however we will try our best to return them to you in the same condition as they arrived.
It is very important to leave a phone number where you can be reached throughout the day and in case of emergency at any hour. Please select only one member of your family to be the primary contact. We will only provide updates to that person. If others need to know about your pet’s status, please have that point of contact person relay the information. Please do not allow multiple people to call the hospital for updates, as this consumes staffing resources, and can affect our ability to provide our hospitalized patients with the special individualized care they need.
During the Day:
You may inquire about an estimated time of your pet’s surgery at the time your pet is admitted to the hospital.
Surgical times are scheduled the day of the procedure and are an estimate of when we feel the procedure will occur. Procedure times are subject to change based on the complexity of the procedures scheduled and the addition of emergent procedures. Your pet’s care is of the utmost importance to us. Insuring your pet’s safety and wellbeing when scheduling the procedure is an important part of the process. We will make every attempt to keep you updated in a timely manner if procedure requires postponement of rescheduling.
Unless other arrangements are made between yourself and our veterinarian, our veterinarian will contact you as soon as your pet has recovered from anesthesia to discuss the surgical findings, and let you know how your pet did during the procedure. If there are any concerns during the procedure, you will receive a phone call immediately (no news is good news!).
If you are worried, always feel free to call, and we are happy to give you an update.
Your pet will be continuously monitored after surgery to make sure they are comfortable and recovering properly without complications.
Most anesthetized patients typically remain in the hospital for at least several hours to allow us to monitor their recovery from anesthesia and surgery, treat any pain or dysphoria, and transition them to oral medication prior to discharge. If your pet needs overnight, ongoing care after surgery, we will help arrange appropriate hospitalization options.
Option for Complimentary Overnight Stay After Surgery:
We offer a complimentary overnight stay for your pet the night after surgery. This allows you to rest without worrying about any postoperative nursing care. Our trained technicians will care for your pet all through the night and can provide any needed support or TLC. You can pick up your pet the following day once they have slept off some of the anesthetic medications.
After surgery:
We prefer to arrange surgical discharges by appointment so we can ensure a smooth transition postoperatively from the hospital to home.
At the time of the scheduled discharge, a surgical veterinary nurse will meet with you to discuss your pet’s medications, postoperative care and recommendations for re-evaluation, and physical therapy. The surgical veterinary nurse will also schedule your pet’s recheck appointment at this time. Please allow around 30 minutes for the discharge appointment. Once the discharge is complete, we will bring your pet to the room. If you require assistance loading your pet into your car, please inform the veterinary nurse so arrangements can be made.
The Days After Surgery:
Each pet recovers differently, we provide tailored instructions for each patient. You should receive a phone call from our team approximately 1-2 days after surgery checking up on how you and your pet are doing, and to answer any questions you may have. Any external sutures or staples will need to be removed approximately ten to fourteen days post-surgery. Again, this recheck/suture or staple removal appointment is made at the time of your pet’s surgical discharge, and there is typically no fee associated with this recheck appointment.
We only wish to make this process easy and comfortable for you and your pet. Please do not hesitate to call us if you have any questions or concerns. We are here when you need us. Thank you for trusting us with your pet’s medical care.