Anesthesia & Surgery

Anesthesia & surgery may be recommended to prevent unwanted offspring, prevent future problems, improve quality of life, or determine the cause of your animal’s condition.   

Anesthesia

Many people worry about their animal undergoing anesthesia.  We will do our best to provide safe anesthesia, monitor your animal well, adjust our protocols to your animal’s individual needs, and help guide your decisions so you feel confident in your animal’s care.

Young, healthy animals have the least risk.  But if your animal has sustained an injury or has significant medical problems, risk increases.  However, that does not mean problems will occur.  Higher risk animals managed well usually do well.  We will examine your animal to identify potential concerns, then recommend the appropriate diagnostics to help us better understand your animal’s individual risks.  We will explain any concerns so you feel informed and confident in our treatment plan.  

If necessary, we may recommend additional medications or IV fluids, delay anesthesia to treat a different problem, recommend additional diagnostics, or if your animal is at exceptionally high risk, consider cancelling the procedure or recommend you go to a facility with more staff and 24 hour care.  We will recommend the best for your pet and help you understand your options!

Surgery

Spays & Neuters: Did you know we not only spay and neuter dogs and cats, but can also do rabbits, pigs, and guinea pigs, as well as castrating ruminants and horses?  Routine surgeries are performed on an outpatient basis, which means you’ll drop your patient off in the morning and pick them up later that afternoon.  We require pets be current on vaccinations for elective procedures; please call us with any questions and to schedule!

Dentistry: Another common anesthetic procedure that may involve radiographs, cleaning, extractions, biopsies, or occasionally other surgical procedures is an anesthetized dental exam.  We require animals needing dental care to have an exam prior to scheduling the procedure so we can give you a better idea of what to expect.

Skin problems: Lacerations, punctures, masses, and lesions that don’t heal may all require surgical intervention.  

Abdominal Surgery:  Abdominal surgery may be recommended for many reasons.  Maybe your animal ate something it shouldn’t, your older pet is experiencing discomfort, or your pet is having problems urinating. Sinton Veterinary Clinic has the diagnostic and surgical capabilities to address many situations.

Orthopedic Surgery:  A broken bone or painful limp is no fun.  While some fractures can be managed with a splint or time, others require surgical intervention to have a good outcome.  Every fracture and limp is different; we will help you navigate options for your animal.  We can do many surgeries at SVC, and we will recommend referral to a specialist if it’s in your animal’s best interest. 

Let us answer your questions!