Blackness Veterinary Surgery

82 Brook St, Dundee, DD1 5BP, tel. 01382 225422, fax 01382 322078

MY PET IS HAVING AN OP

Your vet has advised that your pet and companion needs an operation, possibly to have a lump removed, or surgery following an accident or illness. Maybe the time has come to get him or her neutered. Or it has become apparent from a reluctance to eat or a certain smell that dental work is necessary. Even though we may class many of these procedures as "routine" and certainly carry out a number of these every day we understand that any operation for your own animal is a daunting thought. You will be worried about the initial separation, the anaesthetic, the surgery itself and how your pet will recover. At Blackness Vets we have a dedicated team of nursing staff and vets who will take care of your pet during his or her stay. 

If your pet is coming in to be hospitalised for medical treatment such as fluid therapy or blood tests that do not require surgery please see our page on hospitalisation

What do I do to prepare my pet for his operation?

We will ask you to remove all food (and keep cats indoors) from 10pm the night before the surgical procedure. This is to prevent any regurgitation of food that may occur when your pet is sedated or anaesthetised. Rabbits and small pets do not regurgitate food under anaesthetic  and, due to their small size, we would recommend you do not starve them before their operation. It is fine to leave down water overnight for all animals and  this is especially important if your pet is getting on in years or is known to have kidney damage.

We would also recommend that your pets vaccinations are up to date. We aim to keep any animals with know infectious diseases in our dedicated isolation facilities but unfortunately due the the nature of veterinary medicine we cannot guarantee that all the animals passing through our premises are not silent carriers. However if your pet is not fully up to date with its vaccinations this will not mean it can not be admitted for surgery, we would just ask you to be aware of the slight increased risk of exposure.

What happens when my pet arrives at the vets?

Most surgical candidates will be admitted in the morning between 8.30 and 9am (later by arrangement). When you arrive you will check them in at reception and sign any necessary consent forms. Your pet will then be weighed and may checked by a vet or a nurse prior to admittance, especially if we have not seen them recently, to ensure that the procedures are best suited to each individual animal, and check your pets heart and respiratory system. Cat getting weighed on admission, we weigh ALL cats to ensure they receive accurate dosages of anaesthetic and other drugs.

What goes on behind the scenes?

Then your pet will be taken into one of the hospitalisation ward and be made comfortable by providing a warm bed and anything else appropriate to his or her needs.

Surgery starts early and a vet and nurse usually start operating shortly after nine. They will also supervise any  pre-anaesthetic blood tests, fluid therapy and analgesia for those patients that require these procedures and administer pre-operative sedation for our canine patients.

At Blackness we routinely use the most up to date anaesthetic agents and tailor your pet's sedation and anaesthetic to his or her individual needs. Animals undergoing surgical procedures that are expected to be lengthy such as orthopaedic operations will be started early in the day, as well as  animals with special requirements such as diabetics as we can then monitor their recovery through the rest of the morning. Less sterile procedures such as dentals or radiography will be carried out later in the morning to reduce contamination with airborne particles. We aim to have most booked operations and procedures finished before the start of afternoon consulting at 2pm.

Most anesthetised animals will have an endotracheal tube passed down their windpipe to supply oxygen and any supplemental anaesthetic agent that may be necessary	All animals under deep sedation or general anaesthetic will have artificial tears applied to their eyes to prevent drying through lack of blinking during the anaesthetic	Surgical procedures take place in our operating theatre. A vet and a nurse are present during every procedure to monitor the patient through his or her anaesthetic.	Once the patient has woken up sufficiently to have his endotracheal tube removed he will be returned to his kennel and kept warm and monitored during his recovery

Click on any of the images above to see an enlarged picture          

When can I find out how my pet has got on?

The majority of our patients are only classed as "day-patients" and we be discharged the afternoon of the day they were admitted. Animals requiring major non-routine surgery, intravenous fluid therapy or intensive pain relief will usually be hospitalised at least overnight.  However we will make any decisions based on individual circumstances.

We always request that you should phone the practice in the early afternoon prior to collecting your pet to ensure that he or she is ready to go home and has recovered fully from the anaesthetic or sedation.  A nurse will discharge your pet and go over the post-operative care to be followed at home, including advice on feeding and exercise. Occasionally you may be asked to have an appointment to see a vet when your pet goes home. This may be to discuss any findings at surgery or on radiographs or the results of the pre-operative blood tests. We will also arrange any revisit appointments at this time for stitches or checking wounds.

We hope this page may have answered some of your questions and eased some of your worries about your pet's forthcoming surgery. If you have any more specific question our vets will be happy to discuss these with you at the practice.