State of the Art Veterinary Anesthesia and Surgery
Blue Springs Animal Hospital offers top quaility veterinary surgery, including spays, neuters, declaws, and advanced soft tissue and orthopedic procedures, to pets in Blue Springs and surrounding Kansas City areas.
HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED WHAT HAPPENS BEYOND THE SURGERY ROOM DOORS? COME ON IN!
All care in veterinary medicine is not equal – and that is never more true or more important than when your pet needs surgery.
Whether it is a routine spay / neuter or a complicated orthopedic surgery, you can rest assured your pet is in good hands at Blue Springs Animal Hospital.
Our doctors and licensed technicians work hard to make sure every aspect of our anesthetic, pain management, and surgical care is the best available today in veterinary medicine.
SURGERY ADMISSION & EVALUATION
You will be greeted bright and early the morning of surgery by your pet’s doctor or one of the licensed technicians who will be caring for your pet during surgery.
You will be asked to sign some paperwork authorizing your pet’s procedure. If you have any questions or concerns, we will be happy to assist you.
Your pet will be admitted to the hospital where he or she will be examined by a doctor and prepared for surgery.
PRE-ANESTHETIC BLOOD WORK
We will draw a blood sample for a pre-anesthetic screen (PAS) and it will be run in our laboratory.
We recommend a PAS to check your pet’s vital organ function, blood clotting ability, and cell counts prior to anesthesia. The kidneys and liver must be functioning normally to metabolize the anesthetics.
The results of the blood work along with the doctor’s physical exam complete the pre-surgical assessment and give peace of mind that the pet is healthy and has minimal risk from anesthesia.
PRE-OPERATIVE CARE AND MEDICATIONS
Next your pet will receive a mild sedative and pain medication.
Research has shown that having pain medication in the blood stream prior to surgery reduces the dose of anesthesia (increasing safety) and makes the pet more comfortable after surgery. This is the first step of our comprehensive approach to pain management, discussed in more detail at the end of this page.
The pre-emptive sedative and pain medication also calm your pet’s nerves for the upcoming procedures.
IV CATHETER AND FLUIDS
Your doctor may recommend an IV catheter and IV fluids for your pet while under anesthesia. The IV catheter provides access to a vein for administration of anesthetics and medications and for an IV fluid drip.
IV fluids are especially important for procedures with anticipated blood loss or for pets with compromised kidney function. They may also be needed for any pets who experience problems with low blood pressure while under anesthesia. Fluids maintain the blood pressure to support the vital organs and minimize the chance of anesthetic reactions or complications.
ANESTHESIA
Anesthesia is induced with a fast acting injection, a breathing tube is placed, and the pet receives oxygen and anesthetic gas.
Anesthesia allows us to perform needed surgery or other procedures on pets while preventing them from feeling anxiety or pain.
At Blue Springs Animal Hospital we use a variety of anesthetic drugs and gases according to the patient’s needs along with state of the art monitoring equipment.
Our anesthetic and pain management protocols have been developed and are updated regularly with the guidance of a board certified anesthesia specialist. This is part of our commitment to providing the best care possible for our patients.
Under the watchful care of our licensed, well trained staff your pet will have the safest and most comfortable anesthetic experience possible.
PREPARATION FOR STERILE SURGERY
After induction of anesthesia your pet will be prepared for sterile surgery. The hair is clipped from the surgery area and the skin is cleaned and disinfected with anti-bacterial surgical scrub.
The patient preparation area provides multiple wet/dry counters for patient clipping and scrubbing, high quality warming pads (pets get cold under anesthesia), fluid administration pumps, oxygen lines and a gas scavenging system.
The surgical prep area uses ultrasonic instrument cleaners and high temperature autoclaves for instrument sterilization. There is a hands free surgical scrub sink where the doctor will be doing some hand scrubbing too!
STATE OF THE ART SURGICAL SUITE
Your pet deserves the best, and our surgical care is first class all the way. Our surgery facilities and procedures meet and exceed AAHA standards for excellence.
Our large, clean, bright surgery suite is equipped with dual surgical tables, warming tables/pads, fluid administration pumps, oxygen lines, a gas scavenging system, two laser surgery units, electrocautery, endoscopy and laparoscopy, suction, and high quality instrumentation packs for soft tissue and orthopedic surgery.
We use vital sign monitoring equipment including cardiac, respiratory and automatic blood pressure dynamaps to closely monitor the patients during their time in surgery.
SOFT TISSUE AND ORTHOPEDIC SURGERY
The doctors perform a wide variety of surgery including routine spay / neuter, declaw, soft tissue procedures like abdominal surgery and tumor removals, and difficult orthopedic corrections such as bone plating and TPLO or Tight Rope knee surgery.
A board certified surgeon has visited our practice on multiple occasions to provide training on the more advanced orthopedic procedures, and is available when needed for consultation or to do surgery for a complicated case.
Our doctors are happy to accept second opinions or referrals from our area for surgical procedures.
LASER SURGERY
Laser surgery is recommended for declaw surgery and select other surgical procedures. The laser replaces a surgical blade and seals blood vessels and nerve endings resulting in less bleeding, pain, and swelling.
Laser surgery has significantly reduced the complications and discomfort associated with the declawing procedure for cats. The difference between a laser declaw and a traditional declaw is dramatically apparent in cats almost immediately after the surgery. Cats who had a laser declaw are much more comfortable and almost immediately start walking on their feet again.
Some surgeries, such as removal of small tumors or warts, can be done entirely with the laser and do not require sutures (stitches).
PAIN MANAGEMENT
At Blue Springs Animal Hospital we regularly consult a board certified specialist to ensure our pain management protocols provide the best and most up-to-date care available. We are very committed to making our patients as pain-free as possible before, during, and after surgery.
Successful pain prevention protocols are pre-emptive (given before surgery) and use multiple complimentary methods to combat pain. Depending on the procedure, the location, and the degree of pain anticipated, our pain management protocol may involve several or all of the following:
* Concurrent drugs that treat pain in different and additive ways.
* One drug, called an NSAID, will fight inflammation and provide some direct pain relief at the site of the injury.
* Another drug will be added which is primarily directed at controlling pain perception in the brain.
* A local anesthetic may be used to block nerves locally such as in a limb or a tooth.
* An epidural spinal injection may be used to block pain transmission in the spinal cord from a local site to the brain.
* Constant rate infusions of pain and sedative medications may be given through a pet’s IV for the first 12-24 hours after a painful surgery or injury.
* When your pet is ready to go home, we will send one or more oral pain medications so you can continue to prevent pain for several days after surgery.
Now you know what happens beyond the surgery doors at Blue Springs Animal Hospital. You can be confident when or if your pet ever needs surgery, they are in good hands with us!
Customer Reviews for Surgery Services at Blue Springs Animal Hospital in Kansas City
I highly recommend Blue Springs Animal Hospital. They are amazing and truly care about you and your pet. We took our 5 month old puppy Gizmo there after he fell off the back of our recliner and broke his leg. They did the surgery the very same day we took him there. Dr. Rodier is who we saw and did a wonderful job with him. We are so thankful for everyone that helped us there. Will definitely recommend to everyone I know that has fur babies. Thanks so much you all are truly amazing!!