Companions Animal Hospital of St. Cloud

2703 Clearwater Road, St. Cloud, MN 56301 320-252-6700

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Surgical Suite at Companions Animal Hospital

Your Pet’s Surgery-

  An informed decision about quality veterinary medicine

Thank you for recognizing the need to spay or neuter your pet or have its dental disease treated. We want you to know everything we do to make sure your pet is comfortable and safe.  Some people shop around for the best price on these surgeries without understanding why the cost varies among veterinary practices. Getting answers to these questions will help you find the best fit between each hospitals procedures and your expectations for your pet’s care and safety.

1.    Will my pet receive a complete physical exam and laboratory tests before surgery?

An animal that suffers from such disorders as a parasite infection, an infectious disease, or a heart murmur should not undergo elective surgery without being treated or stabilized. A pre-surgery exam is our chance to detect these conditions. Things change quickly so even if an exam was done a month ago we still recheck the morning of surgery.  Age-appropriate bloodwork reveals problems that are not obvious and helps determine how your pet’s internal organs will process anesthesia and what doses and types of anesthesia and pain medications will be safe.

2. What safety precautions will you take during and after surgery?

While most surgery is uneventful, emergencies sometimes occur. Detecting problems early improves our ability to intervene and correct them. We place a breathing tube in all anesthetized animals to keep the airway open and give oxygen and gas anesthesia. We use the safest anesthesia available.  A heart and blood pressure monitor allows the doctor to track heart rate and rhythm to ensure circulation is normal. A specially trained veterinary nurse or assistant is carefully monitoring and recording vital signs during the entire procedure. In addition all surgery patients have an IV catheter inserted to receive fluids during surgery to support circulation and to flush anesthesia through the organs. We keep an emergency cart with drugs and supplies stocked and close at hand and can quickly give them through the IV catheter if necessary.

Surgery patients lose body heat through anesthesia and the opening of body cavities. If a patient gets too cold, the heart and other organs can be affected; keeping pets warm also allows for a safer and speedier recovery.  Therefore, all patients receive a heat source during surgery. We monitor patient temperatures at 10 minute intervals during and after surgery and provide supplemental heating as needed, if temperatures are dropping we add additional heating elements and monitor every 5 minutes. We also monitor your pet’s gum color, pulse, perfusion, blood pressure and respiration at 5 minute intervals to ensure that respiration and circulation are normal. Since anesthesia affects each patient differently, a volunteer or team member is available to comfort your pet while in recovery. Additionally, a veterinary assistant continues to monitor your pet during its overnight stay. 

3.  How will you manage my pet’s pain?

Surgery hurts! The anesthetic will not provide pain control once the patient wakes up, so in addition to pain medications provided before and during surgery, we include post-operative pain control medication. Dental patients also receive a local anesthetic, similar to Novocaine used in people, if extractions are needed.  The medication controls pain at the site of extraction for up to eight hours.

4.  Do you do laser surgery?

A surgical laser is used for most surgical procedures.  The laser allows us to do surgery with reduced bleeding, reduced swelling, and reduced pain.  It also increases the chances of a cure when performing cancer surgery.

5.  Will I receive written post-surgical care instructions?

Home care is crucial for proper healing. A doctor or veterinary nurse will discuss your pet’s postoperative care; provide clear, written discharge instructions; and ask whether you have any questions. We also call you that evening to see how your pet is doing and answer any questions that may arise once you and your pet are home.

6.   How do you keep records?

Each pet has an individual surgical record where the results of the monitoring are recorded along with drugs given and procedures performed.  In addition, dentistry patients have a record for each individual tooth – including calculus and gingivitis stage, periodontal pocket, fractures, wear, mobility, disease, x-ray results, treatment recommended and performed.

7.  What kind of dental equipment or surgical equipment is used?

Our surgical packs are sterilized for each individual surgery – we do not share packs or reuse them without sterilization.  Our doctors do a complete surgical scrub and wear cap, mask, gown and surgical gloves.  Our dental unit is the most up to date high speed ultrasonic equipment.  This means that it is safer for the teeth and gums.  Our unit can be used under the gum line where many units cannot safely be used.  The polishing unit oscillates instead of rotating to prevent overheating of the tooth.

8.   Do you have dental x-rays?

Yes!  X-rays are very important to dentistry.  When evaluating a pet’s teeth, 50% of disease processes cannot be seen.  That is because it occurs under the gum line and affects the bones that hold the teeth.  Without x-rays this disease will be missed and left untreated.  Dental x-rays are also used after extractions to ensure that no root fragments have been left behind.

9.  Are there any other services offered at the time of the procedure?

Yes!  We do a complimentary nail trim and anal gland expression as part of each anesthetic procedure.

10.  What about the sutures?

We do a courtesy suture removal 2 weeks postoperative.  Our neuters do not have sutures that need to be removed however, if you would like a nurse to do a recheck at no charge please let us know.  Dental patients also receive a courtesy recheck to see how their mouth is healing and to set up a home care plan and teach you to brush teeth.

As you can see from the answers to the above questions, not all surgeries and dentals are the same.  Please inquire what is included in the price that you are given by any veterinary hospital.  Also inquire about who exactly is performing the procedure, what their training level is, and what kind of anesthetic monitoring is used.  A good clinic should be happy to talk to you about all of these factors.  They should also be willing to give a tour of their facilities and/or allow you to watch other surgeries.  Once you have all the information, you can then make an informed choice as to what level of health care you would like for your pet.  We encourage owners to come watch other surgeries before scheduling their own pet or if they are comfortable with it, they are welcome to stay and watch their own pet’s surgery as well.

It is our policy that we will not provide our client and patients with anything less than the best care.  People entrust us with the pets that they love and consider family members.  We feel it would be irresponsible for us to cut corners on the care we provide.  Just as you would not seek out a heart surgeon for yourself based on cost alone, we ask, for your pet’s sake, that you do not seek veterinary care for them that way either.  There is a reason that costs vary widely between clinics.  Although we cannot make the decision for you as to what level of care you are comfortable with, we have made the decision that we will provide the best care we can.

                    Dr. Altena performing surgery                                                                      Dr. Altena using laser during surgery