Our Approach To Surgery
Our doctors review all of their cases at the beginning of the day. They assess your pet's health before surgery by listening to your pet's heart and lungs, evaluating hydration status, and reviewing bloodwork. Pre-anesthetic bloodwork is included with all of our routine surgeries (spays, neuters and dental cleanings) at no additional cost. All of our surgical pets get pre-anesthetic medication to help with pain control and to relax the pet, as well as an IV (intravenous) catheter before anesthesia. Once under anesthesia, our surgical pets are maintained with gas anesthetic via an endotracheal tube*. Warmed IV fluids are given to all our surgical cases* to help keep blood pressure stable and to help keep the body temperature within a normal range. Each pet is assigned a licensed veterinary technician who monitors the pet's heart rate, respiratory rate, and blood pressure throughout the procedure. After the surgery is completed, our surgical pets are assigned to a veterinary assistant, who is specifically trained in surgical recovery. All our surgical pets are given homeopathic anesthetic detox to help them recover from the anesthesia more quickly. Most hospitals will charge extra for this individualized service, but at Helping Hands it is included as part of your pet's surgical package for no additional cost.
Please call our office for our routine surgical package prices. This includes spays, neuters, and dental cleanings. We require all pets to have had an exam at our clinic within 6 months of the surgical procedure, to ensure that there are no conditions that may prevent the pet from having the procedure performed. During this exam, we will provide you with a detailed treatment plan for the surgery, which lists the services included along with associated costs. We also offer our clients two free post-surgical examinations with all of our surgical procedures.
We maintain a clean and brightly lit surgical facility. We use modern, safe anesthesia techniques. Our attention to detail is meticulous. We understand the risks of general anesthesia and we keep that in mind with ALL of our surgical cases. Our ultimate goal is your pet's safety and full recovery.
*Cat neuter procedures are typically so short that we do not need to place IV catheters or use an endotracheal tube. Our cat neuters are still very well cared for, and in place of the warmed IV fluids, warmed fluids are given under the skin.