Your Pets Surgery

Once your vet has gone through the surgical plan for your pet and we understand the risks and benefits we will email you an estimate for the procedure and schedule a time that suits.

If your pet is anxious we can offer and recommend our pre visit calming kit for dogs and cats which includes a suitable medication to give at home.

Your pet should not be fed on the morning of surgery but can drink throughout. Taking your dog to the toilet before coming will help with comfort.

Our reception team will connect you with a lovely surgical nurse who will admit your pet to the hospital.
This is a great time to discuss any concerns you may still have. The nurse will go through the safety checklist and confirm we have your current contact information for that day. The need for pre surgical blood testing, intravenous fluid support or additional procedures will be confirmed.

Your pet will be physically examined and a premedication injection given based on breed, age and health. This will provide preemptive pain relief and sedate your pet to minimise stress and reduce the amount of anaesthetic subsequently needed. A preanaesthetic blood test can be taken at this time.

Once your pet is relaxed with the premedication an intravenous catheter will be placed which allows for anaesthetic, fluid and pain relief delivery.

A safe anaesthetic injection will be slowly given until your pet falls asleep in the nurses arms. At this stage as in humans a tube is placed in the airway. This allows anaesthetic gas and oxygen to be given so your pet can be kept asleep with precise control. A soothing lubricant will be placed on the surface of the eyes.

Your pet will be clipped and cleaned in the preparation room before being transferred to one of our two surgical rooms.

Anaesthetic safety is a priority at the clinic and has improved significantly in Veterinary medicine due to improved drugs, technology and nurse training. The skilled nurses monitor every anaesthetic for every procedure. Careful monitoring happens not just during a procedure but afterwards as well. Surprisingly most complications occur in recovery so having a dedicated hospital nurse as we do is very important.

As a “ Best Practice” accredited clinic you can have confidence that we have safety systems in place and our anaesthetic equipment is regularly tested for safety and accuracy.

All anaesthetics in the clinic receive the same vigilance with constant monitoring using technology and hands on observations. This allows any trend in oxygen levels, breathing rate, carbon dioxide levels, heart rate, temperature etc to be identified early before an issue arises.

Results of monitoring are recorded on an iPad and transferred to the patient record.

We have three special top quality Bluetooth anaesthetic monitoring machines that include all the usual vital signs as well as crucial capnography. These link with large screens in both surgeries and the imaging room for maximum ease of use.

Our other anaesthetic machine has a mobile device.

We can now recommend anaesthesia for senior patients, tiny patients, brachycephalic patients and even modestly unwell patients with much greater confidence.

Anaesthetic drugs and surgery will cause your pets body temperature to drop. Excessive cooling will lead to more post operative complications such as a slower recovery and increased infection risk.

Active efforts to minimise heat loss are critical during surgery and we are particularly diligent about this. We have two safe monitored heat warming blankets called “Hot dog “ devices as well as a thermostatically controlled warmed surgical table.

During surgery we have four intravenous fluid warming devices with temperature control that warms fluid right up to the patients leg for maximum effect. Patients may also wear baby socks and have warm blankets over non surgical areas.

For after surgery we have a warm air blowing blanket system or they may get a cosy blanket from our towel warmer cabinet.

Our small patients may go into one of our two intensive care units for warmth and extra oxygen if needed.

East Coast Bays Vet Clinic is well prepared for a wide variety of procedures.

Fluid pumps

A syringe pump and multiple fluid pumps allow us to administer intravenous fluid therapy and medications accurately.

Electrosurgery and Vessel sealing

We have an electrosurgical device in both surgeries with one also providing vessel sealing. This provides precise control of bleeding during surgery and improves patient care and outcomes. The awesome vessel sealing device can safely seal and cut blood vessels upto 5+ mm in diameter without the need for sutures.

Sterilisation

Two autoclaves for steam sterilisation ensure we are always ready to operate with sterile equipment.

We also have gas sterilisation for delicate instruments which is a first for NZ. This allows endoscopic, laparoscopic and stapling devices for example to be sterilised properly rather than just disinfected.

Surgical lighting

We have high quality LED surgical lighting systems in both surgeries and at our dental table. A double head unit in our major surgery allows for more complex procedures.

Other equipment

We have a wide range of equipment in the background including orthopaedic instruments, two TPLO saws, two multifunction orthopaedic saws, suction, magnification, stapling devices, laparoscopic gear etc