QVAH offers a wide variety of soft tissue surgical services. We do not perform orthopedic surgery but can refer you to a local boarded surgeon if necessary.
Most common:
-Neutering (spaying or ovariohysterectomy in females, and castration in males)
-Lumpectomy (surgical removal of a mass/neoplasia)
-Laceration/bite wound repair
-Abdominal exploratory (to remove intestinal foreign bodies, take tissue biopsies, remove masses, etc.)
-Cystotomy (to remove bladder stones or biopsy a bladder mass)
-Gastropexy (a prophylactic procedure in large deep chested dogs to prevent GDV {gastric dilatation & volvulus}) This can done at time of spay in females
-“Cherry eye” (prolapsed gland of the third eyelid) repair
-Declaws (front only)
-Feeding tube placement (esophagostomy)
-Limb or digit amputation (most commonly for tumor removal)
Our patients are maintained on IV fluids while under anesthesia. They have a dedicated surgical nurse monitoring and adjusting their plane of anesthesia as necessary. We use ECG to monitor their heart rate and rhythm as well as pulse oximetry to monitor their oxygenation. Warm air blankets are used as needed to maintain their body temperature.
Prior to anesthesia, we perform blood work to assess liver and kidney function as well as make sure there is no evidence of anemia or problems with the body’s ability to clot. In cats, we also like to check blood pressure (to evaluate for systemic hypertension). We also try to assess cardiac function with a brief ultrasound of the heart prior to anesthesia.
