Our High Surgery Standards 

Please read this before booking your Pet’s Surgery.

Be attentive when asking for quotes regarding veterinary services at other Animal Hospitals.  We welcome your questions and will always offer to fully explain the treatment plan for your pet. All of our doctors are experienced and all of our technicians are certified.

Our A.A.H.A. certified animal hospital offers the best care before, during and after their surgical procedure. Please visit www.aahanet.org to see the standards that we abide by and that the veterinary profession has to offer. Our Compassionate Veterinary Services provides these comprehensive high standards of service:

• The veterinarian and technician does a complete examination before any procedure and your pet will be supervised during the entire stay in a warm, clean, modern state of the art facility.
• A complete chemistry analysis and review is  recommended by the veterinarian before all surgical and dental cases when sedation or anesthesia is performed.
• All pets are catheterized intravenously and given IV fluids throughout their surgery with (www.heska.com) veterinary infusion pumps.
• All instruments are steam sterilized before all procedures, including dentistries and lacerations.  No cold sterilization is used. This is in accordance with the A.A.H.A standards.
• Safe and properly dosed by the Veterinarian, pain management medications are given before, during and as “go home” pain medications.
• High frequency radio wave surgery is used often and is found to produce fewer traumas than laser surgical techniques because it does not use heat and burn adjacent cells.  Dr. Spinks has recently acquired continuing education at the www.navc.com on several new areas of surgery using this highly technical skill. Please visit www.ellman.com for more information. There is no additional charge for using this highly technical instrument.
• Your pet will be watched closely by the certified technicians and experienced veterinarians during the day and most pets are dismissed to be with their families in the same day of the procedure.  After all, the owner is the best judge of the pet’s normal behavior and our doctors are on call for any questions or assistance with seeing the pet, including house calls.  We have found that the animals are less stressed when they spend that first night at home with their owner and heal much better.  Of course, for critical patients overnight professionals are available for observance if needed. The procedures are done early in the day with anesthetics that leave the system completely and the pet is wide awake and ready to go home when you come in for your discharge appointment. 
• We are the only Animal Hospital in Sussex county that offers Sevoflourane anesthesia.  This is the safest anesthetic available.
• Monitors such as blood pressure and ecg are used during every procedure. (www.vetspecs.com) We use Vetspecs, because it is made for use in animals only therefor it is the most accurate.
• An intensive care unit using the Bair Hugger warm air heating to prevent hypothermia is used to ensure a safe recovery.  (www.bairhugger.com) This is much safer and more warming than just a blanket. The surgical table is also heated so the pet is kept completely warm on all surfaces.
• Procedures such as a nail trim and ear cleaning are done during the procedure and since the pet is sedated, an inspection of the entire body is made to check and map any lumps or bumps that may look suspicious.
• Most procedures do not require suture removal since subcutaneous suturing (PDS) is used. However, in cases that require skin sutures there is no charge for the recheck visit and suture removal.