Dog surgery: No vet meeting or pre-tests? What about rawhide?

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I personally don't think age is a major risk factor for anesthesia. Most of the problems or deaths under anesthesia are unpredictable and can happen to any age. Doing blood work and checking for any underlying issues like a heart murmur before surgery is great. Anesthesia is monitored closely by the veterinary nurses: blood pressure, oxygen levels, EKG, animals are intubated and are on oxygen and on IV fluids. There are health risks to leaving diseased teeth in the mouth as well. Overall if Angel is a healthy senior I think she will do fine! Good luck!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. If it is possible, I would recommend having the x-rays done without sedation and depending on how the x-rays look and how her blood work looks, consider removal of the mass under anesthesia. She is not too old for anesthesia but the risk of anesthetic complications rises with age. As long as her heart, lungs and blood work are normal, she should be fine under anesthesia. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Hi there and thanks for posting on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Precautionary measures include getting a physical exam and blood sample taken prior to surgery to make sure there are no underlying health issues that would compromise her ability to make through surgery or handle the anesthetic given during surgery. During surgery, her blood pressure, respiratory rate, and oxygen saturation should be monitored. IV fluids are typically given during surgery to help maintain blood pressure and provide hydration. After surgery, her incision may be iced every 2-3 hours and she may be given antibiotics and anti inflammatory medications. Her incision should be check within 24 hours after the surgery to ensure there is no bleeding occurring or fluid building underneath the incision. A recheck exam should be conducted within 10-14 days after surgery. I hope this helps!

There are a couple of reasons that they may have delayed Aubree's surgery. Overweight dogs have a lot more fat in their abdomen which makes the spay procedure more difficult. The surgeon today may have felt that the surgeon who is on tomorrow is a better surgeon or may have worried that they didn't have enough time on the schedule today to do both her spay and her dental. Overweight dogs will sometimes need more careful anesthetic monitoring, but that is always part of what we do when a dog is under anesthesia. Although anesthesia always has risks in any dog, we do everything we can to minimize those risks and certainly the health benefits of a spay and a dental cleaning are worth those risks. Remember, they would not have delayed Aubree's procedures unless they felt it was in her best interest, so they will do everything they can to take care of your baby. Good luck! I hope that was helpful and makes you feel better. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Typically a combination of drugs is administered prior to the procedure. I typically like giving the pre-medication 15-20 minutes prior to the procedure. This should not set her back and once she is out of the unfamiliar vet clinic, she should be fine. You can ask the veterinarian to pre-medicate her prior to the procedure so that she is not so stressed out. It is not necessary to keep dogs that have been spayed overnight. All of my spay procedures go home that exact same day. If you feel she will be too stressed out while there, I would be more apt to have you keep Sie at home for the post-op recovery period. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

In an overweight dog, there is more fat tissue to get through, and within the abdomen there is fat covering everything making it more difficult to see, and slippery to handle the tissues. It is a little more challenging than a spay in a thin dog. If they rescheduled the procedure with a different veterinarian, it is possible that the veterinarian on duty today wanted to make sure she was in more experienced hands. A spay is a very routine procedure, although no surgery is without risk. You should be thankful that the veterinarian today did what was best for Aubree, and I hope everything goes well tomorrow. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Boo! I am sorry that Boo is so sick! I would assume that your Vet took Boo to surgery because they felt that she had a blockage. We always weigh the pros and cons of doing an exploratory surgery and never do it unless the evidence is strong. Sometimes we are between a rock and hard place because the animal is not improving and it is best to look and be sure that the X-rays and barium series (dye) didn't miss anything. No imaging modality is perfect. The only way to know 100% for sure there is nothing stuck is to go look. I ALWAYS warn owners, despite clear evidence, that we could go in and find nothing. It happens all the time. Personally I'd rather find nothing that have animal pass away because of an intestinal perforation from a foreign body that I could have fixed. I am very sorry that the outcome wasn't what you hoped for but I would rest assured your Vet is doing what they believe is in the best interest of Boo. I hope this helps and I wish Boo the very best!