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Welcome to a behind-the-scenes look at what happens in preparation for Surgery at our Hospital. Don’t worry we have not included any pictures of the surgery itself. However, we thought that it was important to explain what we do before and after a surgical procedure to ensure operations are as safe as possible.

Preparation of surgical equipment:

The day before a surgery is scheduled, the necessary instruments, together with swabs and drapes, are gathered into a surgical pack. After the prepared pack is sealed, it is steam sterilised in the Hospital's autoclave, before being allowed to cool and dry overnight. A similar procedure is followed for the surgeon's surgical gown and hand towel.

 

Pre-anaesthetic examination and anaesthetic induction

Having fasted from 8pm on the night before their admission, the patient arrives on the morning of the operation between 7:30 am and 8:30 am. After being weighed and admitted to Hospital, each animal is given a thorough pre-anaesthetic examination.

For those patients whose owners have elected to do pre-anaesthetic blood testing, a small amount of blood is collected and the results of the ensuing tests are then used to modify the anaesthetic regime if needed.

After being given a premedicant (which includes a pain-relieving drug), and allowing time for the medication to work, the patient has a small amount of hair clipped from their forearm. The injections site is then prepared and an anaesthetic agent is injected into the vein.

After the patient is asleep, an endotracheal tube is passed down into his or her wind pipe. The animal is connected via this tube to a gaseous anaesthetic machine which delivers anaesthetic gas, oxygen and nitrous oxide (a pain-relieving gas which some people know as 'laughing gas'). Monitoring equipment is connected to the patient, and a detailed anaesthetic record kept throughout the surgical procedure. Further information about anaesthetics and anaesthetic risk can be found on our anaesthetics page...

 

Preparation of the surgeon:

The surgeon prepares for surgery while the patient is being anaesthetised. After donning a surgical cap and mask, the surgeon scrubs his or her hands and forearms in an antiseptic solution. This minimises bacterial contamination.

One of the theatre nurses then opens the pre-sterilised gown and glove packs. The surgeon dries his hands, puts on the gown and gloves, then heads into the theatre to organise the sterilised instruments and drapes to be used for the procedure.

 

Preparation of the patient:

After being anaesthetised, the patient has a section of the hair over the operating site clipped away.  All loose hair is then removed by vacuuming the area. They are then taken into the theatre and reconnected to another anaesthetic machine and set of monitoring equipment.

Subsequent to this, the exposed skin is prepared using a series of three disinfectant solutions.

 

Once this is done, the animal is ready for the surgeon to drape the surgical site and begin the procedure.

 

After surgery:

The anaesthetic gases are turned off after the surgery is completed. To aid their recovery from the anaesthetic, the patient is allowed to breath pure oxygen for about 5 minutes before breathing room air. As the animal starts to wake from the anaesthetic, the endotracheal tube is removed, and the patient is settled into one of the Hospital cages in the treatment room. 

Each cage has a soft fluffy mat on the cage floor to ensure that the patient is comfortable, and towels and heating pads are used to provide warmth after the surgery. During the initial stages of recovery, one of the nurses remains with the animal to ensure their safety.

Although the premedicant that each animal receives contains pain relief, we also give additional medication to control discomfort after the surgery if it is needed. Once the patient has recovered sufficiently, and after a post-surgery examination, the animal is discharged from hospital.

 

On release of the animal from hospital, we discuss home-care of their pet with the owners and schedule any necessary follow-up appointments. These include examining the wound in 5 days to ensure healing, and having sutures removed 10-14 days after the surgery if dissolving suture material has not been used.