What You Need to Know Before Your Pet's Upcoming Surgery

What is Nixa Animal Hospital's anesthetic protocol?

Our number one goal is that your pet has a smooth anesthetic procedure and recovery without complications. Because of this, our doctors have worked to create the safest possible protocol.

1. Your pet will be given pre-medications. A personalized combination of sedatives and pain medications are given to make inducing anesthesia less stressful and recovering easier and as pain free as possible.
2. An intravenous catheter will be placed in one of their front legs. This allows administration of medication to induce anesthesia, administration of IV fluids during their procedure, and immediate IV access in the unlikely event of complications.
3. A doctor will induce anesthesia with propofol. This is the same medication most commonly used by human anesthesiologists. It very quickly makes your pet fall asleep, but doesn't last very long in their system. From this point forward, a technician assigned to your pet will remain with them until they wake up from anesthesia to monitor their vitals.
4. An endotracheal tube will be placed to administer gas anesthetic and protect your pet's airway while unconscious. 
5. Your pet will be hooked up to isoflurane gas anesthesia and oxygen. This allows adequate anesthesia for a smooth and comfortable procedure. Gas anesthetics are fully exhaled within about 5 minutes which means a quick recovery after your pet's procedure or in the event of complications.
6. When your pet's procedure is complete, they will be unhooked from the isoflurane and moved to their kennel for recovery. Their technician will sit with them until they regain basic reflexes like blinking, swallowing, and coughing, indicating their ET tube can be removed. Your pet will likely remain out of it for a while after their tube is removed due to the pre-medications.
7. Our policy is that any pet receiving sedation or anesthesia must be able to get up and walk out of the clinic on their own. Because of this, your pet will remain in our care for several hours after their procedure. This also allows them to be closely monitored for any post-anesthetic complications.

Is the anesthetic safe?

Today's modern anesthetic monitors have made surgery much safer than in the past.  Here at Nixa Animal Hospital, we do a thorough physical exam on your pet before administering anesthetics to ensure that a fever or other illness won't be a problem. We also adjust the amount and type of anesthetic used depending on the health of your pet. 

Pre-anesthetic blood testing is important in reducing the risk of anesthesia.  It is recommended that all pets receive blood testing before surgery to ensure that the liver and kidneys can handle the anesthetic. It is required for pets over five years old. Even apparently healthy animals can have serious organ system problems that cannot be detected without blood testing.  If there is a problem, it is much better to find it before it causes anesthetic or surgical complications.  Minor problems detected can allow our doctors to adjust your pet's anesthesia appropriately. If serious problems are detected, surgery can be postponed until the problem is corrected.

For pets between 5 years old and 10 years old, a general chemistry panel is run prior to anesthesia. This checks general organ function, primarily kidney and liver values. For pets 10 years and older, a CBC (complete blood count) is also run. This checks numbers of red and white blood cells.

It is important that surgery be done on an empty stomach to reduce the risk of vomiting during and after anesthesia.  You will need to withhold food for at least 8 to 10 hours before surgery.  Water can be left down for the pet until the morning of surgery.

What is the drop off and pick up procedure?

Surgery patients need to be dropped off between 7:30 and 8:00 AM to allow ample time for their pre-anesthetic exam, labs, and pre-medications. At check in, a technician will review consent forms and an estimate with you, as well as answer any questions you may have.
After surgery, your pet's technician will call you to inform you that surgery is complete and your pet is doing well. They will provide you with a time, after which your pet can be picked up anytime, usually after 3:30 PM. Your pet can be picked up anytime after the provided time until the clinic closes at 5:30. If you are unable to pick them up until later, they will be walked and given water as appropriate. At pickup, a doctor or technician will review discharge instructions with you and answer your questions.

How long will my pet stay at the clinic?

Nixa Animal Hospital does not have 24-hour staff, so nearly every patient is sent home the same afternoon after their procedure. They need to stay several hours to be monitored after anesthesia, but most patients can be picked up after 3:30 PM the same day. For more involved or emergency surgeries, the doctor may advise your pet stay overnight if they are stable or be transferred to the emergency clinic for continued care. If your pet does stay at the clinic overnight, they will be provided with food, water, and bathroom breaks or a litter box. Dr. Molly is also able to monitor them via the security cameras.

Will my pet have stitches?

For many surgeries, we use absorbable sutures underneath the skin. These will dissolve on their own over several weeks, and do not need to be removed later.  Some surgeries, especially tumor removals, do require skin stitches.  With either type of suture, you will need to keep an eye on the incision for swelling or discharge.  Most dogs and cats do not lick excessively or chew at the incision, but this is an occasional problem you will also need to watch for. Your pet will be sent home with an e-collar after surgery to be worn when they are not directly supervised. If there are skin sutures, these will usually be removed 10 to 14 days after surgery. 

Will my pet be in pain?

Anything that causes pain in people can be expected to cause pain in animals.  Pets may not show the same symptoms of pain as people do; they usually don't whine or cry, but you can be sure they feel it.  Pain medications needed will depend on the surgery performed.  Major procedures require more pain relief than things like minor lacerations.

For dogs, the doctors may prescribe an oral anti-inflammatory for several days after surgery to lessen the risk of discomfort and swelling.  We use newer medications, which are less likely to cause stomach upset, and can be given even the morning of surgery.  The cost of the pain medication will be included in the surgery estimate.

Cats may be sent home with an oral pain and anti-inflammatory medication after some more routine procedures. For smaller cats and those undergoing more involved procedures, a topical opioid pain medication, called Zorbium, will be applied prior to their discharge. This provides them with pain relief for 72 hours without you having to give medication at home.

What other decisions do I need to make?

While your pet is under anesthesia, it is the ideal time to perform other minor procedures, such as dentistry, ear cleaning, or implanting an identification microchip.  If you would like an estimate for these extra services, please call ahead of time. This is especially important if the person dropping off the pet for surgery is not the primary decision maker for the pet's care.

When you bring your pet in for surgery, we will need to 5 to 10 minutes of time to fill out paperwork and make decisions on the blood testing and other options available.  When you pick up your pet after surgery you can also plan to spend about 10 minutes to go over your pet's home care needs.

Two days and the day before your pet's surgery, you will receive a confirmation text for their procedure. If we do not receive a reply, our receptionist will call you the evening before to confirm and provide pre-operative instructions.