There are two parts to the surgery – the anaesthesia and the surgery. For more information you can visit the Services section of our website.

General Anaesthesia

Your pet will be sedated after admission. This is a necessary prelude to anaesthesia, and also calms anxious pets. This means you don’t need to worry about your pet being scared in hospital – they are happily sedated!

When it is time for surgery, an anaesthetic agent will be injected into the drip line and your pet will fall straight to sleep – a general anaesthesia. A tube is placed into the trachea to allow for anaesthetic maintenance on oxygen and a gaseous anaesthetic agent.

Local Anaesthesia

If we are performing a painful procedure, we will administer local anaesthetic nerve blocks. Although your pet is under general anaesthesia, these local blocks mean we can keep the general anaesthetic lighter (and safer). Just as important, your pet will wake up much more comfortable, and studies suggest local nerve blocks help with longer term pain relief.

Anaesthesia Monitoring and Support

We actively monitor the vital signs of your pet during the anaesthetic. We support your pet with intravenous fluids and body-warming ‘huggers’, amongst other things.

Waking Up From Anaesthesia

Your pet will wake up warm, comfortable and under the close supervision of our staff.

Surgery

What happens during the actual surgery depends on what surgery is being performed. You can learn more about the different procedures in the Services section.

After Surgery

After surgery, your pet will recover from their anaesthetic under close observation. We will call you to let you know how things have gone, and confirm a time for you to be reunited with your pet when they are awake enough to return home.