Routine Procedures

On the day

Reception is open from 8am. to allow you to drop your pet off before work. We ask that any patients being admitted for surgery arrive before 8.30am unless you have a scheduled appointment with a Vet.

Vet consultations begin at 8.30am Monday-Friday should you wish to discuss in detail the planned procedures. To avoid any disappointment, we advise you to make this appointment before the day of surgery.

Prior to the administration of the anaesthetic, we shall weigh and a vet examine your pet thoroughly to establish whether there are any pre existing problems which might have influence over methods and materials used. Some such problems, however, cannot be determined by physical examination alone and therefore we recommend a pre anaesthetic blood sample, for all pets. The practice has a modern blood analyser for this purpose and results are available within 15 minutes, allowing any adjustments to be made in the anaesthetic protocol.

As is routine in human hospitals, we can provide intravenous fluid support (a drip) for our patients. We believe this benefits all pets and allows them to make a stronger and speedier recovery.

The consent form

We shall ask you, or an authorised adult, for written permission to perform surgery on your pet. We make time to guide you through the consent form so that we can explain any terms that you do not understand or are worried about.

Our Kennels

We allocate each pet an individual, heated and sound-proof day care kennel, situated within our central preparation room. All animals are within sight of the nursing and surgical team, allowing prompt intervention, if required.

Procedures

We know that even the most minor operation may cause you considerable anxiety. We shall keep you
involved all the way and we assure you that we shall give your pet individual and caring attention.

It is the routine at Oak Tree Vet Centre that patients receive not only a sedative to allay any fear but an analgesics (painkillers) as their pre-medication before general anaesthesia. Patients receiving sedation only for investigations will have painkillers if appropriate to their condition.  Individual patients may need help beyond the first 24 hours and a Vet may prescribe medication for you to give your pet at home if required.

Following induction of anaesthesia, all theatre cases are intubated to protect their airway and maintained via a modern gas anaesthetic system featuring sevoflurane. All anaesthetised patients are monitored throughout, by the theatre nurse under the constant supervision of the operating surgeon.

All patients have their own set of operating drapes and instruments. There is never reuse of drapes or instruments without them having been cleaned ultrasonically, packed and sterilised in our modern hospital standard autoclaves.

Where the operation involves entering the abdominal midline e.g. in a bitch spay we make our abdominal closure with modern absorbable sutures. This means that after a few weeks there are no “little nobbles” left behind for the whole of the animals’ life as is the case with nylon sutures.

Going home

We are as flexible as we can be, regarding sending your pet home and we do not have to discharge animals prematurely as we have ample comfortable accommodation for them. When you collect your pet we shall give you full verbal, practical and where necessary, written instructions on post operative care. In many cases we shall give you a mobile phone contact for us for the evening of your pet’s operation. This will be recorded on your discharge sheet and may be used to speak with one of us in the case of any unexpected development.

Care of surgical wounds

Wounds do not normally require any attention except for you preventing your pet licking excessively at the wound or removing the stitches. We have bothplastic Elizabethan collars or Medical shirts and sleeves for sale to prevent any patient interference. We have to make a charge for re suturing wounds, often involving another anaesthetic, if stitches have been lost as a result of a lack of supervision.

Contacting us if you are worried.

Please phone us, on 0131 539 7539 or refer to your written post operative instructions in the first instance. Please have a pen and paper ready to write down the phone number if ringing out of normal reception hours.

Please do not arrive at the surgery without telephoning first. This will lead to delay in treating your pet as the veterinary surgeon may not be there to see you.

*n.b. all fees correct at time of writing. E.&O.E.