Surgical Care

Surgical care at Crossroads Animal Hospital is always done under sterile conditions with the surgeon capped, gowned, gloved and masked in a separate surgery suite, using steam or gas-sterilized surgery packs, instruments or equipment. Surgeries include:

Ovariohysterectomies (spays) of dogs, cats, ferrets, and rabbits
Castration of dogs, cats, and rabbits
Declawing of cats
Dewclaw removal in puppies and adult dogs
Skin mass/lump removals
Abdominal exploratory
Splenectomy (removal of the spleen)

Enterotomy ( surgery involving the intestines )
Gastrotomy ( surgery of the stomach - for removal of foreign objects, biopsies, etc. )
Cystotomy ( surgery of the urinary bladder - for removal of bladder stones, biopsies, etc. )
Surgical biopsies of many different tissues
Wound repairs

Surgery of the chest (thoracotomy), orthopedic surgery, any complicated surgery, complex oncologic (cancer) surgery, ophthalmologic (eye) surgery, or neurologic surgery (nerve or brain ) would either be referred to a veterinary surgical specialist or the specialist would come to Crossroads Animal Hospital to perform the surgery.

All dental and surgical patients receive necessary pain medications that are individually tailored to safely meet their pain needs depending upon any underlying health conditions and the procedure performed.

All patients anesthetized for a dental or surgical procedure have a complete physical examination the day of the procedure and a current preanesthetic profile (PAP) that evaluates important blood and urine parameters that affect the risk of anesthesia. A review of the patient's medical history and medication use completes the preanesthetic evaluation. Based upon these results an anesthetic protocol that best suits the patient is selected.
All patients anesthetized for a dental or surgical procedure are attached to one or more monitors that record blood pressure, O2 saturation of the blood, CO2 saturation of exhaled air from the patient, pulse rate, heart rate, EKG of the heart, respiratory rate and body temperature. These parameters, monitored by the veterinarian and the veterinary technician allow us to keep the patient at a safe depth of anesthesia. This helps minimize the risk of anesthesia to the patient. In addition, any higher risk patient has an indwelling venous catheter placed and fluids are administered.
When the surgical patient is discharged, a veterinary technician will provide the client with information about the procedure performed, any necessary aftercare, information about any medications the pet will need to take at home and any follow-up appointments that are needed. Information from the veterinarian will have been discussed by phone or in an exam room prior to discharge.