Surgery Procedure

It is important for you to know that not all veterinary hospitals approach surgery in the same way. Advancements in veterinary medicine have allowed surgical procedures to be much safer than ever before. At Haven Animal Hospital, you can rest assured that your pet will be provided the highest quality of care including pre-anesthetic testing (blood work), advanced monitoring, IV catheter placement for emergency venous access as well as stabilization of blood pressure, pain management, body temperature control, and the safest gas anesthesia.

When your pet is admitted to our hospital for surgery, several steps are taken before the actual surgery. First, your pet’s attending doctor will do an examination to determine if there are any current issues that would prevent us from proceeding with surgery. Blood is then drawn for pre-anesthetic testing. This important step tells us if the liver and kidneys are functioning well enough to handle anesthesia and surgery. It also tells us if there is anemia, infection, of inflammation. If all is well, an animal nurse will place an intravenous (IV) catheter and administer pre-anesthetic medications to reduce pain, calm your pet, and reduce the amount of anesthesia needed. Later, a short acting drug is given to allow your pet to fall asleep. At that point, a breathing (tracheal) tube will be placed and a gas anesthesia/oxygen mix will be administered directly into the lungs. Monitors will be attached to your pet, showing heart rate, EKG, blood pressure, carbon dioxide exhaled, oxygen saturation, and body temperature. Anesthesia can be adjusted accordingly, and the monitors also indicate if the pet is having any difficulties during the procedure before serious problems occur.

Our surgeries are performed in a sterile surgery suite with doctors and nurses masked and gowned, and your pet is lying on a heated surgery table. Your pet is constantly monitored by an attending nurse during the procedure and when the surgery is complete, the gas anesthesia is turned off and only oxygen is administered. Because the gas anesthetic is delivered directly to the lungs and exhaled rapidly, your pet will wake up fairly quickly with a nurse present. At that point the breathing tube is removed, and the pet will be breathing on its own. Circulating warm air blankets are used to keep your pet warm and comfortable after the surgery.

Your pet continues to be monitored by our trained staff during the recovery period, and your pet can usually be released later the same day. Your pet will even be sent home with a pain medication to maintain comfort levels at home!

On November 5, 2008 Haven Animal Hospital was awarded accreditation by the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) after an intense evaluation.   We are proud to be an AAHA-accredited hospital because we know that the quality of care we give meets and exceeds the highest standards of care in the industry.  Less than 15% of veterinary hospitals in the nation are AAHA-accredited.

AAHA-accredited hospitals voluntarily choose to be evaluated on over 900 standards in the following areas: quality of care, diagnostic & pharmacy, management, medical records, and facility. 

 AAHA developed the Accreditation Program to raise the level of care being provided to companion animals. They wanted to provide a way for practices to show their excellence to their communities and clients. They also developed the evaluation system where practices are regularly evaluated by a Practice Consultant to ensure they meet AAHA’s accreditation standards.