Caring for your pet after Surgery

After any surgery or anaesthetic your pet will need some extra special care from you. To help you help your pet we have provided the answers to many common questions and some helpful advice.

The day of surgery

The expert care we provide during your pet’s hospital stay is the basis for good post-operative recovery. Our professional care will make your care at home easier and more effective.

We start by providing a pre-operative sedative and pain relief for all surgical cases. These two procedures ensure a stress free time in hospital. Pre-operative pain relief is the most effective way of controlling pain associated with surgery.

Whilst in hospital your pet will have a warm bed and plenty of comfortable blankets and lots of attention from our qualified and experienced nurses.

The anaesthetic

Your pet will have been anaesthetised for the surgery. There may be a clipped patch on the leg and neck where samples were collected for any pre-operative tests and where the induction agent was given.

All anaesthetised animals are placed on gas anaesthetics as this greatly increases the safety of the procedure and provides for faster post-operative recovery. At times the airway breathing tube (Endotracheal Tube) that was placed to deliver the anaesthetic gas may cause a small cough for a day or so. Call us if this occurs.

When your pet comes home

At times your pet may appear to be drowsy on the day of surgery. This is the residual effect of the pre-operative sedative and the anaesthetic agents. This drowsiness should be gone by the morning after surgery.

When they come home please provide a padded bed in a warm secure area. This bed should be somewhere where they will be minimally disturbed whilst being easy for you to keep an eye on them.

Some pets will lick excessively at wounds. We have Elizabethan head collars available for those pets. Leave this collar on at all times.

Post-operative feeding

Ensure a small meal is provided and water is within easy reach when you take your pet home. Most pets will eat and drink that night and they all should be eating by the next day. If they do not eat by the day after surgery please call us.

Medications

Depending on the procedure your pet may go home with medication. These may include antibiotics and further pain relief medication. Follow the instructions on the labels.

Your pet’s surgery site

• Observation is the most important part of wound care.
• The majority of surgery sites do not require any cleaning.
• If a drain has been placed we will give you specific instructions about cleaning.
• At times we will place a sterile dressing over the wound or bandage the area.
• Do not allow vigorous exercise.
• No swimming or bathing for your pet until after the sutures are removed.
• Suture removal is generally 10 to 14 days post surgery.
• Do not let your pet lick or chew at the surgery site.

Complications to look for

It is very uncommon for there to be post-operative complications. If you are at all concerned with the progress of your pet please call us to arrange a check. Once we have examined the pet we generally find that most of the changes are within normal limits or are due to ongoing post-operative pain.

Signs to watch for include: