The surgery suite at the Gaffney Animal Hospital is equipped to handle a variety of surgeries: from routine spay and neuters to complicated caesarian sections, bladder, and gastrointestinal surgery.

On the day of surgery, you will need to bring your pet into the hospital on an empty stomach.  Admitting hours for surgery patients are 8:30-9:30am.  If you have never visited our hospital before, our receptionist will have some paperwork for you to complete.  They will then admit your pet to the hospital and escort you to an examination room.  In the exam room, a veterinary assistant will review your pet's medical and vaccination history and answer any questions you may have about the surgical procedure.  An estimate will be provided and you will be asked to sign a consent for surgery form indicating you understand the procedures being performed and the estimate provided.  The veterinary assistant will place an identification collar on your pet and take them to the treatment area where the assistant will record your pet's vital signs.  Presurgical bloodwork is taken and analyzed for abnormalities such as dehydration, high or low blood sugar, infection, and kidney or liver problems.

A complete physical examination, medical history review, and review of your pet's laboratory tests will be performed by the doctor prior to the administration of medications.  Anesthetic drug plans are tailored to each individual patient.  Our doctors have multiple pain medications and anesthetic drugs from which to choose.  A premedication consisting usually of a mild sedative and a pain medication, such as morphine, is administered about an hour prior to the start of surgery.  This medication reduces anxiety for your pet and the amount of pain and pain medications he will need after surgery.  An intravenous catheter is placed in your pet's front leg just before surgery.  Intravenous catheters and IV fluids prevent dehydration, low blood pressure, and give the doctors and assistants vein access for the administration of medications in the event of an emergency.

Once the doctor is ready to begin surgery, the anesthetic drug will be administered  which places your pet in a light sleep.  A breathing tube called an endotracheal tube is inserted in your pet's windpipe to allow our staff to administer oxygen and anesthetic gas to your pet during surgery.  Gas anesthesia is very safe and easy to administer.  Patients wake up within minutes of the end of surgery.  A veterinary assistant is assigned to each surgery patient and monitors the patient throughout the procedure.  A pulse oximeter, EKG, and doppler blood pressure monitor are used on each patient to monitor vital signs.  Once your pet is safely anesthetized and intubated, the surgical area is clipped and the skin sterilized using surgical soap and alcohol.  Once prepped, the patient is transfered to the surgery suite where a final prep is performed.

Surgery at the Gaffney Animal Hospital is performed in a sterile environment.  All assistants wear surgical caps and masks.  Doctors wear a surgical cap, mask, sterile gown, and sterile gloves. Surgery instruments are cleaned and sterilized in an autoclave after each use.  Materials such as surgical drape, suture material, and scalpel blades are single use and are discarded at the end of surgery. 

At the end of surgery, your pet is moved to the recovery area where a veterinary assistant monitors them until the breathing tube can be safely removed.  A warm blanket and hot water bottle or warm rice bag are placed in your pet's cage as they recover fully from the anesthesia.  Patients in recovery are monitored every 15 minutes until discharge.  Usually you can expect a phone call from one of our staff, updating you on your pet's condition once they are in recovery.

Discharge hours for surgery patients are 4:30-5:30pm.  At discharge, a staff member will review your pet's surgery and at home care instructions.  If problems should arise at home, our staff is always available to answer your questions by phone or email.