The Night Before your Scheduled Appointment:

• Keep your pet safely inside your home.
• No food (including bones, treats, snacks) after 10pm.
• Water is fine until the morning of the procedure. We recommend taking it away when you wake up that morning, so your animal has a small amount of time without it before coming in.

The Day of Surgery:

• Drop off time the day of the surgery is between 7:30 – 8:00 am.
• Check-in typically takes 10-15 minutes to complete.
• Pre-anesthetic bloodwork is required on all anesthetic procedures. If we did not send out any presurgical lab work prior to your appointment, we will run the lab work the morning of the procedure.
• All dogs must be on a leash and all cats must be in carrier.

Discharge:

• For routine surgeries, pick up is normally the same day between 3:30-5:00 pm.
• We will call you after your pet’s surgery for an update and will provide you with a set time for pick up.
• For orthopedics and other major surgeries, we may require your pet to stay overnight and pick up will be next day between 11:00 am and 2:00 pm.
• We will give you both verbal and written instructions for your pet’s post-surgery care.

If you have any question, please don’t hesitate to call, or text us at 314-320-0004

Please also take the time to read about our commitment to safe anesthesia as you may be asked to authorize recommended procedures during check-in.

Safe Anesthesia

Most of us are anxious about going under anesthesia ourselves, so it’s understandable to be anxious about your pet being anesthetized. Anesthesia is one of the most critical aspects of surgery for your pet. Your pet’s safety is of the utmost importance to us. Every step in our surgery protocol is designed to minimize risks and keep your pets safe:

• Pre-anesthetic physical examinations will be performed on all pets by the veterinarian along with a review of your pet’s medical history.
• Blood chemistries and the ability of the blood to clot are fundamental to a safe recovery. The preanesthetic lab work that we require tests for this and other indications of a developing medical problem or anesthetic risk.
• Intravenous catheters and IV fluids help to keep your pet stabilized, hydrated, and to maintain glucose/electrolytes levels during the procedure. IV fluids help in the quick elimination of anesthetic agents from the body and help promote a quick and smooth recovery. An intravenous catheter is placed to allow administration of IV fluids and medications.
• Ultra safe anesthesia: We use the most modern inhalant anesthetics, Isoflurane gas, to make anesthesia as safe as possible for your pet. This is the same anesthetic used in most human hospitals for pediatrics.
• Warm water circulating pads and animal specific body warmers are used to help your pet stay warm during procedures.
• Intraoperative monitoring care is performed physically by a qualified technician during the entirety of your pet’s procedure. While under anesthesia, your pet will receive monitoring and care comparable to what you’d receive if you underwent anesthesia. This may include an endotracheal tube inserted into your pet’s trachea (windpipe) to deliver the anesthetic gas and provide oxygen to your pet’s lungs; pulse oximetry to measure the oxygenation of your pet’s blood; blood pressure monitoring; temperature monitoring and warming blankets to prevent hypothermia (low body temperature); and electrocardiography (ECG, also called EKG) to monitor your pet’s heart.
• Surgical suite is equipped with the highest quality instruments, including monitors, cautery, and suction, allowing us to perform many soft tissue surgeries such as ovariohysterectomies, neuters, tumor removals, cystotomies, abdominal exploratories, orthopedic surgery, TPLO surgery and much more.
• After Anesthesia your pet will be placed in a quiet cage or kennel to recover. Pets are closely monitored during this time to make sure that they are recovering normally, and that care is provided quickly if there are any problems. Blankets and heaters are used to keep your pet warm during the recovery. The endotracheal tube is removed when your pet is awake enough to swallow normally. Fluids and/or medications may be continued through recovery, depending on your pet’s condition.