Surgery

Anaesthesia and Pain Control

We use a wide range of modern anaesthetics and sedatives, allowing a smooth, gentle and rapid recovery after surgical procedures.  Accurate monitoring equipment is used during anaesthesia and we keep careful records of the progress of patients during the whole process.  We also make sure our patients stay warm before, during and after their operation.

Whenever we feel that a patient may experience some pain following surgery, we never hesitate to use analgesics (painkiller medications).  We often use a multimodal approach to pain control.  For instance, during joint surgery we will use a powerful analgesic at the start of the surgery, then local anaesthetic in the operated joint and finally a long-acting anti-inflammatory at the end of the surgery which can then be continued at home in tablet form.

Desexing

At Mont Albert Veterinary Surgery we recommend desexing all dogs and cats between 5 and 6 months of age unless you are planning to breed from them. A discount applies if desexing is done before 6 months of age.

Desexing surgery involves a general anaesthetic and removal of the ovaries and uterus in females or the testicles in males. We always use a long-acting pain killer injection to allow a comfortable recovery. It is remarkable how quickly young dogs and cats recover. Once the anaesthetic has worn off, they’re ready to get back to normal life and wondering why everyone is mollycoddling them. However, we do recommend that pets that have been desexed be kept quiet and confined for 5 days afterward.

When done before a female dog’s first 'season' (first heat or oestrus cycle – usually occurs around 9 months of age), desexing will greatly reduce the risk of mammary (breast tissue) cancer later in life. It also practically eliminates the risk of serious diseases of the ovaries and uterus, some of which can be fatal. Another benefit from desexing is the prevention of bleeding at each season, thus avoiding amorous male dogs trying to jump over your backyard fence.

Male dogs are generally calmer and less aggressive after being desexed. They're less likely to urinate on everything, and attempt to escape less frequently. Other benefits of desexing, besides eliminating the chance of producing unwanted puppies, include the prevention of testicular cancer and a far lower chance of prostate disease, such as prostate cancer.

If not desexed, female cats can have up to two litters a year and, when ready to mate, become restless, very vocal and tend to wander off, often resulting in accidents and fights. As with dogs, desexing also greatly reduces the likelihood of mammary (breast tissue) cancer and practically eliminates the risk of ovarian or uterine diseases.

Male cats generally make far better pets if they have been desexed. If not desexed, they may be unpopular with neighbours and owners alike as they often spray pungent urine to mark their territory. They are also very territorial so are more likely to fight with other cats. This can lead to abscesses as a result of bite wounds, and can also lead to FIV infection (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus or Cat AIDS). Overall, desexing increases a male cat's life expectancy.

This covers many areas from orthopaedic surgery (bones and joints) to soft tissue surgery (all the other bits). Two common surgical procedures we do at Mont Albert Veterinary Surgery are Anterior Cruciate Ligament repair and Lumpectomy.

Some dogs will damage one or both of their ACLs. These are major ligaments (fibrous bands) in the knee joint and they can be damaged by injury or sometimes as a result of arthritis. Affected dogs will limp, sometimes to the point of not putting the leg to the ground at all. Surgery involves replacing the ACL with an artificial ligament and removing any damaged parts of the knee joint. More information can be found in our Info Sheets section.

This surgery involves the removal of a lump or sometimes multiple lumps from a patient. As dogs and cats get older, they get quite good at growing various lumps, often on their skin where the lump can be seen at an early stage. It is important to have these lumps checked during a consultation to hopefully rule out the likelihood of a cancer (malignant lump). Before removing a lump we like to have as much information about it as possible. This usually involves a fine-needle aspirate, which is like an injection in reverse and does not require an anaesthetic. A small needle and syringe are used to aspirate (or "vacuum") some of the cells in the lump and the cells are looked at under a microscope. This is a quick and almost painless procedure and allows surgery to be planned to give the best results possible.

Occasionally we will need to get a biopsy (a little piece of the lump itself) and this may require a general anaesthetic. Some lumps can be very difficult to remove permanently and we will sometimes need to refer a patient to a specialist for these. Happily, most lumps we remove never come back.

This involves using a cryoprobe (a metal-tipped probe) to freeze a small area of the body. At Mont Albert Veterinary Surgery we use a nitrous oxide cryosurgical unit that can freeze tissue down to minus 89 degrees C. The most common procedure we use this for is the treatment of skin cancers on cats’ noses (usually squamous cell carcinoma). When used correctly and at the appropriate time, cryosurgery is very effective and less invasive than conventional surgery.

We have facilities for eye assessment and eye surgery. Our operating microscope allows a clear view of minute details when operating on eyes or eyelids. This allows more accurate surgery than could be done with the naked eye, improves the end-result and reduces the likelihood of post-operative (after surgery) complications or problems.

While we do all types of eye surgeries, we prefer to send our patients to one of the eye specialist clinics for cataract surgery.

© Mont Albert Veterinary Surgery            443 Mont Albert Road, Mont Albert, Victoria 3127            Tel (03) 9890 1728