Surgery Protocol

Here at the Lagos Vet Clinic we aim to provide the safest and most comfortable experience for your pet, should they need an operation.  To do this we use a combination of safe drugs, monitoring devices and experience to see the animal through as safely as possible.

Before admitting patients to the hospital, owners are asked if they would like pre-anaesthetic blood and urine tests done.  This is routine for ALL people undergoing an anaesthetic and recommended for all animals as well, especially the elderly.  This is to assess the function of the major organs (namely the liver and kidneys) to determine the safety of any anaesthetic before it is given.

The clinic is equipped to run all these tests on site, on the day of the anaesthetic.

After admission to the hospital we administer a pre-med injection.  This is a combination of a sedative and an opiate drug.  This allows us to use less of both drugs (thereby making them safer) and starts the analgesia (pain-relief) plan, even before the surgery.

When the patient is ready we like to place an indwelling catheter in the vein.  This allows us to then put the animal on I/V fluids throughout the anaesthetic.  This supports blood pressure and maintains perfusion of all the major organs during the surgery.  Both these factors are vital to a safe anaesthesia.  Indwelling catheters also allow us to administer any drugs intravenously both safely and quickly, should the need arise.

The patient is then anaesthetised and placed on oxygen and isoflurane (an anaesthetic gas) throughout the rest of the anaesthetic.

Patients are then put on three different anaesthetic monitoring devices which constantly assess their respiration, pulse, oxygenation and heart function.  These stay on the patient until they wake up, with all vital signs being recorded throughout on an anaesthetic monitoring chart.

After the surgery is complete, animals are recovered from their anaesthesia in a warm kennel, being monitored by a nurse until awake.

The patients are clipped prepped in our prep area PRIOR to being brought into the surgical suite.  Once there they are aseptically prepared the operation can be carried out.

Surgery is undertaken with sterilised instruments, drapes and gowns, gloves and masks used.

Our surgeries are finished using an intra-dermal suture pattern.  This means that there will be no sutures protruding from the skin for your pet to try and pull out.  Therefore patients do not need to wear a ‘bucket' around their neck over the following week.

All surgery patients are given appropriate pain relief.  This ranges from anti-inflammatory injections through to epidural analgesia, all aimed to make the post operative period as comfortable as possible for your pet.

Pain management is paramount for our surgery patients.

We aim to send our surgery patients home on the same day, so that you can have them back home with you straight away.  Your pet will most likely be able to eat that night, though we encourage a smaller meal after an anaesthetic.  Depending on the procedure your pet may be groggy from the effects of the opiate drug used, some of which last for 10-12 hours providing pain relief throughout.

We are happy to discuss these procedures with you further, as we want our clients to feel as comfortable about our anaesthetic and surgical protocol as we do at the clinic.

 When you place your pet in our hands, you trust us to provide the best possible medical care.  That is why we may recommend certain tests when your pet is having a medical problem or is scheduled for anaesthesia.

Regardless of age, physical examination and medical history of your pet, we recommend diagnostic testing to identify health problems and begin treatment as early as possible.  These tests are especially helpful when your pet just isn't feeling right and symptoms are hard to define.

If your pet is going to be placed under anaesthesia, we strongly recommend pre-anaesthetic testing.  Anaesthesia is extremely safe for healthy pets.  But, if your pet is not healthy (and sometimes it's hard to tell without testing), complications can occur both during and after the anaesthetic procedure.  We can minimise potential risk when we know the health status of your pet before administering anaesthesia.

The top 4 reasons to test your pet before anaesthesia:

• Pets can't tell us when they don't feel well.  A healthy appearing pet may be hiding symptoms of a disease or ailment.  For example, a pet can lose up to 75% of kidney function before showing any signs of illness.  Testing helps we evaluate the health of your pet's liver and kidneys, so we can avoid problems related to anaesthesia.

• Testing can reduce risks.  If results of the pre-anaesthetic are within normal ranges, we can proceed with confidence, knowing the anaesthetic risk is minimised.  On the other hand, if results are not within the normal ranges, we alter the anaesthetic procedure to safeguard your pet's health.

• You deserve peace of mind.  Testing can significantly reduce medical risk and ensure your pet's health and safety.

• Testing can help protect your pet's future health.  These tests provide baseline levels for your pet and become part of his or her medical chart for future reference.  If blood tests are carried out in the future, we can compare the results with these baseline levels.

For more information about what laboratory tests we can carry out in the Lagos Vet Clinic, please contact us.