Kings Veterinary Hospital
At Kings Veterinary Hospital, your pet’s safety and comfort is very important to us. We do everything that we can to minimize risk, stress, and pain to your pet by using the safest anesthesia and latest surgical technique. We understand that cost is a factor in choosing your pet’s health care, so we want to be sure that you understand what sets Kings Veterinary Hospital apart from other veterinary hospitals, as well as what your options are at the time of a surgical procedure. Advancements in medicine and veterinary practices continue to evolve and we feel that is important to keep our clients aware of these changes in order to help them make educated decisions about their pet’s care.
Basic Package includes:
Pain control: Proper pain control is very important to us and involves more than just sedation. During any surgical procedure, we provide your pet with pain medication prior to surgery. Studies have shown that providing this medication before surgery actually minimizes the amount of pain felt during recovery. For more invasive surgeries, we also send home pain medication for the first 3 days of recovery to help your pet feel more comfortable during the more painful days of recovery.
Heated surgery table: We are very proud of our state of the art, heated water recirculation system placed under your pet during surgery. This allows us to keep your pet’s temperature up during surgery, providing safer, smoother recoveries. The temperature of the water is regulated closely by the system to ensure your pet is not burned as they might be with a standard heating pad.
Proper surgical suite: Our surgical suite is separated from the rest of the hospital to ensure sterility. All of our surgeons wear a cap, mask, and sterile gown and gloves for surgeries. Proper sterile technique is used with instruments. Each surgical case gets its own sterilized surgical pack.
Precision Instruments: Our instruments are the top of the line, German made. We also use proper technique to clean and sterilize our surgical instruments. This allows the surgeon to concentrate on the surgery and not faulty equipment.
IV Catheters: All patients who undergo an anesthetic procedure have an IV catheter placed during anesthesia. This allows us to administer IV medications more easily and expeditiously, should an emergency arise during anesthesia.
Emergency Drugs: We keep a supply of appropriate emergency drugs for any situation.
Proper Monitoring: A pulse oximeter is used on anesthetized pets. This instrument measures heart rate as well as oxygen saturation. Pulse oximetry is augmented by monitoring by a veterinary assistant who monitors the anesthesia machine and other physical characteristic of the patient.
Proper anesthetics: We use the newest generation of anesthetic agents available. The newer anesthetics are much safer and more effective than the older generation of drugs. We determine which type of anesthesia to use based on your pet’s history, clinical health, and the surgical procedure to be performed.
Pre-operative Examination: No matter when the last time was that we saw your pet, we will perform a physical exam prior to anesthetization. We will listen for heart murmurs or arrhythmias, lung sounds, or any other irregularities. We will not proceed with the procedure if we feel that your pet is not a good anesthetic candidate.
Recommended options:
Any anesthesia carries a risk. The more information that we have, the less risk there will be. The latest office laboratory technology has enabled us to run blood samples within minutes, safely, and accurately before anesthetic procedures. As your veterinarian, we are happy to have this technology available to you, as well as safe anesthetic medications. There is an additional cost to these procedures. In some cases the doctor may mandate them as vital and necessary for a successful outcome. In other elective procedures they may be optional, in which case the doctor leaves the decision to you - We feel your pet is safe and getting excellent care with the basic package, if that is your choice. The “optional” technologies are available for those who desire them for their pet.
Preoperative Bloodwork: Not all conditions are readily detected by a general physical examination including some congenital (present at birth) conditions. Most anesthetic drugs are removed from the body by the liver and kidneys; therefore, it is important that these organs are healthy. By performing the preanesthetic bloodwork, we will find out important information about the function of the liver and kidneys, as well as the percentage of red and white blood cells in your pets blood. If any red flags are present, we have found them prior to anesthetizing your pet. This information is helpful in general as it provides a baseline for future reference.
If the test is normal – GOOD NEWS! Though normal results do not guarantee that your pet will not have an anesthetic reaction, it does tell us that your pet is healthy and in a low risk category. We now have a baseline sample and we can proceed with more confidence.
If the results are abnormal, this may alter the course of anesthesia or postpone the procedure in order to address and/or treat the problem. In this case, we will discuss our findings with you and may decide to do one of the following:
Postpone the anesthesia procedure until a later date.
Recommend further testing to pursue a specific diagnosis.
Proceed with anesthesia, but alter the drugs and procedures.
IV Fluids: All anesthetic patients have an IV catheter placed for easy access to the vein in case of an emergency. We also offer fluids. The fluids are administered intravenously throughout the procedure. This provides support for your pet’s circulatory system during the surgery. This diminishes the dehydration that can come from anesthesia and makes for a smoother recovery. Additionally, IV fluids help maintain blood pressure to support organ health and function. Most procedures require IV fluids.
Laser: Laser technology uses focused light beams to heat cells which vaporizes them. Properly used lasers reduce peripheral tissue damage, provide excellent hemostasis, and reduce pain by numbing nerve endings. With the laser, surgeries typically take less time making a pet’s time under anesthesia shorter as well.
Cold Laser Therapy: This technology is used for healing. The technology of light eases pain helps your pet heal faster after surgery or traumatic injury. The deep penetrating light allows relief of pain through the release of endorphins and stimulates the injured cells to heal at a faster rate.
Home Again microchip: We offer the Home Again Microchip System anytime that an unchipped pet is under anesthesia. Home Again has recently undergone some exciting changes. If you pet is chipped with the Home Again system, you will be eligible for all of their new services. These services include contacting veterinary practices and shelters within a 25 mile radius via fax with a missing poster with your pet’s information, the ability to create a Lost poster of your own to put up in your neighborhood, and a Pet ID card useful in case of emergency.
Tonopen: Glaucoma is a disease in which a pet’s intraocular pressure (IOP) is too high. What this means is the pet’s eye has too much fluid built up and is not draining properly. This can lead to severe pain, swelling, blindness, and sometimes loss of the eye. There are approximately 50 breeds that are predisposed to this disease, but it is also caused by trauma, tumors, and primary eye disease. The key to success with glaucoma is early detection. For that reason, we recommend that predisposed breeds be tested yearly, geriatric patients be tested yearly, and that each puppy or kitten receive a baseline sample when they are spayed/neutered for future reference. You may see this item if it is relevant to your pet on the estimate.
For Dental Procedures: There are items on your estimate that fall in the “if needed” category. These include extractions, antibiotics, periodontal treatment, and dental radiographs. These are included on the estimate to give you an idea of things that may come up during the course of the dental cleaning. It is difficult to get a thorough oral exam on an awake pet. Once they are under anesthesia, we often find fractured teeth, gingival pockets, and other oral abnormalities that need addressed. We will provide you with a form that determines how you would like us to proceed with any of these “if needed” items.
We can perform whatever dental services are needed. Understand this makes the estimate “open-ended”
We can call you prior to performing these services to give you an idea of what we are expecting and possible cost. If for some reason we cannot reach you, we will need to know if you would like us to proceed or go ahead and start the recovery process.
We can only clean the teeth and not perform any of the “if needed” items. If you choose this option, we may find things that will eventually need to be addressed and may require future anesthesia to do so.
Digital Dental Radiographs: Dogs under 20 pounds and cats are more likely to have dental disease below the surface of the gums. For that reason, we have invested in digital dental radiology. This allows us to take an image of what is going on below the surface. A tooth may look healthy at first glance, but a lot can be going on within the roots, gums, and jaw. Additionally, a tooth can look off color and of concern, but radiographs may reveal that all is well below the gums. For this reason, we take digital dental radiographs of all dogs under 20 pounds and all cats. For larger breed dogs, we base the recommendation on what we see on dental examination. If there are teeth that look suspicious, we may recommend taking radiographs to assess further. For those patients over 20 pounds, this technology falls under the category of “if needed” above.
What to expect the day of the procedure
The night before: Your pet can have dinner, but you will want to withdraw food and water at or before midnight.
Dropping off in the morning: Drop offs are scheduled between 7:30am and 8:30am in 15 minute intervals. In order to alleviate wait time, we schedule each patient in at a different time slot. Please allow 10-15 minutes in the morning for us to go over your estimated costs and options. If you have time constraints or special circumstances that require a drop off that is faster or at a different time, please call us ahead of time to make arrangements. Our staff would be happy to meet your needs.
The estimated cost for your pet’s procedure will be discussed with you at length in an itemized format. At that time you will be asked to make decisions regarding the recommended, but optional items on the estimate. By reading through the information included in this packet, you will be prepared and educated going into this explanation, which will save you time.
Check in: Once you have signed the estimate and consent forms for the surgery, your pet will be weighed and a staff member will escort them to the treatment room where they are set up in a cage and made comfortable prior to their procedure.
Pre-surgical physical: If bloodwork is indicated, we will make a small blood draw upon arrival. The bloodwork is run and will be waiting for the doctor at the time of the pre-surgical physical. An examination of the heart and lungs will be performed. If the bloodwork and physical exam are normal, we will proceed with the surgery/procedure.
Procedure: Your pet will be anesthetized with an IV (intravenous) injection which will sedate them quickly and facilitates intubation with an endotracheal tube. This tube is connected to the gas anesthesia and allows the gas to flow directly into the lungs. Your pet’s eyes are lubricated, an IV catheter is placed, fluids are run if chosen, and surgical site is prepped (shaved and scrubbed). A pulse oximeter is attached which monitors vital signs such as heart rate, breathing rate, C02, and oxygen intake. The doctor and assistants then proceed with the procedure. For dental procedures, you will be asked at check in if you wish to be contacted prior to performing procedures such as extractions that are exposed by the dental cleaning and oral exam.
Recovery: When the procedure is completed, your pet is taken off of the gas anesthesia. A surgical assistant then sits with your pet and stimulates them by petting and rubbing them. As they become more conscious, their endotracheal tube is removed and they are placed back in their cage, wrapped in blankets to keep them warm and comfortable. We will call you with a progress report and arrange a pick up time. We usually send them home between 5:30 and 7:30pm depending on the procedure and how quickly they recover from the anesthesia. As the day goes on, we offer them water and allow them to go outside to eliminate. Recovering patients are kept in our treatment area where they are closely monitored for the rest of the day.
Picking up in the evening: When you come for your scheduled pick up time, we will review the details of the after care with you. A technician typically handles the discharge and will offer you all of the information you need to help you with your pet’s recovery. We will verbally reinforce the written instructions to assure clarity, an important step in a successful surgical/dental outcome!
