Surgery at Oakes Animal Hospital
We take pride in the quality of care we provide for your pet and we strive to keep our standards of care at the highest level. We take many steps to ensure your pet’s safety and minimize anesthetic risk.
We place an intravenous (IV) catheter in all pets prior to surgery and recommend pre-anesthetic bloodwork. IV catheter placement not only offers an emergency port, but also, through intra-operative fluids, a way to help maintain optimal blood pressure. Pre-anesthetic bloodwork can alert the doctor to any abnormalities that can increase risk of anesthesia.
Our operating room is equipped with an advanced anesthetic monitoring that displays
- Heart rate
- EKG (electrocardiogram)
- Blood Pressure
- Blood Oxygen Saturation
- Capnometry (assesses ventilation, CO2 levels)
- Respiration rate
- Temperature (active heating performed as anesthesia causes a decrease in body temperature)
We also assign a veterinary technician to continuously monitor your pet while they are under anesthesia. The technician records vitals and notifies the surgeon of any changes to vital signs.
Your pets comfort is important to us and pain relief is a priority. Animal so not always display outward signs of discomfort. Pre- and post operative injections are given as indicated to minimize discomfort. Medication will be prescribed if additional pain relief is needed while recovering at home.