Surgery and General Anesthesia
Many pets require some form of surgery at some point in their lives, whether it’s a routine procedure like a spay/neuter, skin biopsy, or dental procedure. At Powers Ferry Animal Hospital, we can perform many different surgeries for your four-legged friend. We offer state-of-the-art surgical services using up-to-date, comprehensive anesthetic protocols, which are focused on safety, monitoring, and pain management. Our goal is to ensure that your pet is as safe and comfortable as possible. Our veterinarians have years of experience with various soft tissue and routine surgeries, so you can be confident that your pet will be in good hands while at our hospital.
We know that having a pet undergo surgery can be an emotional time, and our goal is to put your mind at ease. We’ll be happy to address any questions or concerns you have prior to admitting your pet so that you can be as comfortable as possible. Before every surgery, we recommend pre-anesthetic blood work to minimize any complications not evident on a pre-anesthetic exam and ensure that each pet is healthy enough for surgery.
We place an intravenous catheter (IV) before your pet’s procedure, allowing us to deliver the anesthesia quickly and painlessly. This also allows us give IV fluids during the procedure. IV fluids keep your pet hydrated and help avoid blood pressure issues under anesthesia. The intravenous catheter also allows quick IV access to administer treatment in the rare case of a surgical complication.
Once your pet is comfortably under anesthesia, we place a breathing tube into their trachea (windpipe). We can administer 100% pure oxygen through this tube, along with anesthetic gases to maintain a level of anesthesia appropriate for performing surgery. We then shave, clean, and prep your pet for their procedure in a separate prep area to lessen contamination. Your pet is then moved directly into our surgery suite, where our veterinarians perform sterile surgery. With our advanced surgical monitoring equipment, we monitor your pet’s vitals throughout the entire surgical procedure. We use a heated surgical table and provide temperature monitoring support during surgery. A trained staff member is with your pet during the entire procedure, from start to finish.
After the surgery is completed, we gradually reduce the flow of anesthesia and move your pet to the recovery area. A trained staff member will continue to monitor your pet until he/she is fully awake. We ensure all of our surgery patients’ pain is well under control at all times. We will then contact you with an update and to discuss the appropriate time and date to pick up your pet. Upon your arrival, we will provide you with discharge instructions so your pet can recover as safely and quickly as possible.