Preparing for Your Pet’s Dental Treatment or Surgery
Whether it is a spay, neuter, mass removal, bladder surgery, wound repair, or other soft tissue surgery, here’s how to prepare for the best possible outcome for your pet!
- At the time of appointment, discuss any concerns like high anxiety while kenneled, or the need for a certain time to pick up. We want your pet to be as comfortable as possible!
- Confirm if prescribed medications should be given the day of surgery (medications for calming, diabetes, blood pressure, seizure, etc)
Weeks prior to surgery:
- If needed, purchase, set up, and practice confinement with a large crate, x pen, or baby gates.
- If not already done, make an appointment for preoperative lab work. Preoperative lab work helps us to further assess your pet’s health and to tailor anesthetic protocols for best outcomes.
- Practice leash walking if your dog is not trained on a leash.
- Accustom your cat to its carrier- watch this helpful video Cats and Carriers: Friends not Foes
- Purchase and practice with an Elizabethan collar if advised, (not all surgeries/pets will need this)
Two days prior to surgery:
- Discontinue nonsteroidal medications such as Carprofen (Rimadyl), Firocoxib, (Previcox), Grapiprant (Galliprant), Meloxicam (Metacam).
- Discontinue Fish oils and Omega 3 fatty acid supplements
- For dogs, bathe if possible.
Day of surgery:
- Present your pet after fasting (no food) overnight. Water is fine.
- If any medications have been given, please let us know the kind and amount.
- Allow time in the morning for discussion with the veterinarian, if needed.
- Allow time to fill out forms.
- At the time of admittance, confirm if there are any other procedures being performed (ie, additional mass removal, recheck lab work, vaccines, etc.). Consider marking areas of concern with a Sharpie marker.
- In the case of mass removal, consider allowing us to send the tissues to the laboratory. This helps us to diagnose, determine further treatments, to learn if clean margins were obtained, and to help prognosis outcomes,
- Request any refill medications, if needed.
- Consider the need for calming medications to help reduce activity and promote healing during recovery.
- The doctors will call you during the day for updates. Plan on discharge and pick up between 4:30 and 5:30, (earlier depending!).
What to expect from us:
Beyond providing surgical and dental expertise, our goal is to recognize your pet’s individual needs, anticipate and alleviate pain, and provide emotional comfort.
We use modern anesthesia techniques which involve a multimodal approach to minimize risk. Patients are monitored with blood pressure, ECG, heart rate, respiratory rate, body temperature, and end-tidal CO2. They are supported with IV fluids, warming devices, and lots of TLC from our dedicated and experienced veterinary team.
What to expect after surgery or dental treatments:
Your pet has had general anesthesia, they will likely be groggy and not themselves. Allow them to rest in a quiet place. Keep them warm and quiet, away from other pets and small children. Protect them from hazards such as stairs, ponds, and pools. Leash walk dogs keep cats inside. These guys have had a huge departure from their normal routine! It is expected that they have a small appetite for the first couple of days and may not be fully active. It usually takes up to three days to fully recover from their big day away from home and from general anesthesia. So long as your pet is getting more normal every day, we are on the road to recovery! We are here to help should you have any questions or concerns!
Please call us at 540-364-4954 to discuss any further concerns or to schedule a dental treatment or surgical procedure.
We want your pet to be comfortable coming to us!
Using Fear-Free handling techniques, our aim is to make your pet’s visit as positive as possible. We are a certified Cat-Friendly Practice and take special care with our feline patients.
