Anesthesia
Today’s modern anesthetic drugs and anesthetic monitors have made surgery much safer than in the past. We take many precautions to ensure the safety of your pet under anesthesia. Here at The New Haven Veterinary Hospital, we perform a thorough physical examination on your pet BEFORE administering anesthetic drugs. We also adjust the amount and type of anesthetic used depending on the age and health of your pet. Your pet is then monitored consistently and vitals recorded every 5 minutes throughout your pet’s surgery.
We recommend pre-operative bloodwork and IV catheter with fluid therapy for all surgery patients, including routine procedures. Preanesthetic blood testing is important in reducing the risks that may be associated with an anesthetic procedure. Every pet needs blood testing before surgery to ensure that the liver and kidneys can handle the anesthetic drugs. 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. Animals that have minor dysfunctions will handle the anesthetic better if they get an IV catheter and fluids during surgery. The IV catheter also provides us a quick port to administer medications in emergency situations. If serious problems are detected, surgery can be postponed until the problem is corrected.
Surgical Service
At New Haven Veterinary Hospital we perform a wide array of surgical procedures ranging from routine spay & neuter/declaws to more complex eye, ear, and bone surgeries. We also perform tumor removals, laceration repairs, bladder stone removals, anal gland surgery and GI foreign body removals, to name a few.
Our fully-trained veterinary team is here to ensure the safest, most efficient, cutting-edge procedures for your pet. Our goal is to keep your pet safe and comfortable during his/her procedure. Our surgical suite includes a circulating warm water blanket, a state-of-the-art anesthetic monitor, a modern gas anesthetic machine, and advanced sterilization techniques. Your pet will be monitored and their vitals will be recorded throughout his/her entire procedure and post procedure by a veterinary technician.
Fasting: It is important that your pet doesn’t receive any food or water AFTER 10 pm the night before surgery. Vomiting during or after anesthesia can cause serious complications. If your pet eats even a small treat after 10 PM please call our office and reschedule your pet’s surgery.
Checking In: We check in surgeries from 8 to 8:30 am. These appointments take about 15 minutes and are performed by one of our registered technicians. Our technicians will go over surgery safety and comfort procedures
During the day: The doctor or one of our team members will call you once your pet’s surgery is completed. It is important that you leave a working phone number where you can be reached throughout the day in case of questions/emergencies. Your pet will recover in our treatment room on a warming bed while a technician will continue monitoring his/her vitals.
Checking Out: After you check out with the receptionist, then you will be directed to an exam room. There the doctor or surgery technician will go over discharge instructions and answer any further questions you may have.
Surgery Aftercare: Each pet recovers differently. Some pets may be sleepy and disoriented for 8-12 hours after surgery. One of our doctors or team members will call you 1-2 days after surgery to see how your pet is doing and address any concerns you may have. Most routine surgeries such as spays/neuters have absorbable sutures that will dissolve on their own. All other procedures will usually have sutures/staples that need to be removed in 7-14 days. The length of exercise restriction varies from 5-7 days for elective surgeries to several months for orthopedic surgeries. Most routine procedures go home the same day that the surgery is performed. More advanced procedures (includes declaws) often require 1-2 nights of hospitalization.
Pain Management: We know that animals feel pain just like we do. Pain relief is a top priority at NHVH . We also know that pain can delay healing after surgery. All surgeries will receive a pre-op injection of an analgesic. Post-op pain injections, take home oral pain medications are also highly recommended. We also offer new, innovative, and drug free approach to relieve pain, laser therapy.
For any further questions or to schedule an appointment please call.