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Surgery at the Veterinary Medical Center of Spring
Surgery at the Veterinary Medical Center of Spring is an integral and growing part of the practice. The veterinarians at this practice feel that surgery is an important part of our jobs. Surgery is often a necessity for the accurate diagnosis and treatment of medical conditions that affect our furry family members. Traumatic events that lead to lacerations, broken bones, torn muscles and ligaments also often times need some sort of surgical intervention. Ovariohysterectomies (spays) and castrations (neuters) are a large part of any veterinary practice. But, did you know that these procedures are performed for more than just the prevention of "bad behavior" and unwanted puppies and kittens? These surgeries also serve as preventative medicine for conditions that arise from hormonal influences such as breast cancer, uterine cancer, pyometra (uterine infection), prostate cancer, prostate infections, and testicular cancer. Surgery can be very useful for the continued quality of life you give your pet.
There are certain types of surgeries that are considered vanity surgeries and do not directly affect the quality of life of your pet. Some of these surgeries include debarking procedures, ear crops, tail docks, dew claw removals, and declaw procedures. For this reason, a simple request by the owner to perform one of these procedures is not a guarantee of service. Before performing any of these procedures, clients are educated on the process and appropriate uses of the particular procedure. Ear crops, debarking procedures, and declaw procedures on dogs are not routinely performed at the VMCS. If there has been a disease process or traumatic event that necessitates surgical involvement of one of these areas, then a vanity procedure may become a necessity and at such times surgical options are discussed with the client.
Because anesthesia is required for most surgical procedures, the doctors and staff at the VMCS want to ensure the safety and health of your pet. There is never a 100% guarantee that an animal will not have some complication with anesthesia. However, there are certain tests and procedures that can be performed to make anesthesia safer. Because we want to have successful anesthetic procedures and because we want the safest environment possible for our patients and your furry family member, an exam and labwork is required before any procedure is performed. If something is noted on the exam or in the labwork that may negatively influence the safety of anesthesia, then the procedure is postponed until further diagnostics can be performed. Some of these conditions include liver, kidney, and heart disease. Once the safest environment has been provided, then the procedure is performed with IV fluids and sophisticated monitoring to better ensure early detection of possible complications and to ease the recovery from anesthesia.
Pain management is also a very important part of any procedure. Dogs and cats have a nervous system that is just as sophisticated as ours. For that reason, they can feel pain just as we can. However, because they can not talk to us, they can not tell us when they hurt. To alleviate this communication gap, pain medication is given before, and after most surgical procedures. Pain medication is also sent home for several days to ensure the animal stays as pain free as possible. Decreased pain means a faster and smoother recovery from surgery. Just remember, if the surgical procedure would be painful for you, then it will be painful for them.
Surgical procedures performed at VMCS include:
Skin and superficial mass removals
Ovariohysterectomies (spays)
Castrations (neuters)
Bladder surgeries for the removal of stones and biopsies
Abdominal procedures for the removal of foreign bodies
Intestinal, liver, lymph node, and spleenic biopsies
Oral surgery
Femoral head and neck ostectomies (FHO)
Cranial crutiate ligament rupture repair using lateral suture +/-
grafting techniques
Other surgeries can be performed at the discretion of the surgeon
If the doctors feel your animal will best be served by a board certified surgeon, the client will so be advised and referred to Texas A and M University, College of Veterinary Medicine in College Station.
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