Surgery

VSH offers a wide variety of surgical services.  Our team of surgeons is capable of diagnosing and treating the most challenging cases in the fields of orthopedic, thoracic, gastrointestinal, oncologic, and reconstructive surgery.  We take pride in being able to provide these services to critically ill or injured animals on a 24-hour basis. 

Monitoring during anesthesia includes basic measurements as well as ECG, blood pressure, end-tidal CO2, and oxygen saturation.

Surgical care does not begin and end in the surgery suite.  Exemplary surgical care addresses the patient’s pre-,
intra-, and post-operative needs.  Our ICU is conveniently located next to surgery so that the postoperative patient can receive appropriate care in an efficient manner.  Experienced technicians and emergency doctors ensure seamless postoperative patient care and monitoring at night and on weekends.

Analgesia is vital to the patient’s comfort and recovery.  We believe in a multimodal approach to pain control utilizing combinations of opiates, NSAIDS, local anesthetic techniques, and physical therapy.  Our nursing staff is well trained to recognize pain and to use techniques such as pre-operative epidural injections.

Our surgeons are capable of performing a wide variety of orthopedic procedures and VSH maintains the necessary equipment and supplies to expedite treatment and surgery in a timely manner.   Bone plating, interlocking nail, and external skeletal fixation equipment allow treatment of both simple and complex orthopedic injuries.

Surgery has long been considered the cornerstone of cancer treatment; however, successful cancer treatment requires a “team approach”, melding the expertise, skill, and knowledge of surgeons and oncologists.  This set of photos shows the removal of a body wall mass followed by closure of the body wall defect and skin.  Healing is almost complete at the two week postoperative recheck.  The oncologists and surgeons consulted on this case to determine what may be the optimal treatment (surgery in combination with radiation and/or chemotherapy) as well as the timing of treatment (pre-operative vs. postoperative radiation therapy).  Developing a comprehensive cancer treatment plan that is appropriate for both the pet and the owner is the first step in the treatment of any cancer patient.

Abdominal surgeries range from the simple to the major, e.g., biliary re-routing procedures.  In this photo, a surgeon is using a stapling device after an intestinal resection to simultaneously cut and then staple the intestinal ends in a side to side manner.  We have a wide range of diagnostic capabilities including ultrasonography, CT, and endoscopy to help confirm diagnoses and help prevent non-essential surgery.  Emergency abdominal surgeries commonly performed at VSH include treatment of gastric torsion, pyometra, hemoabdomen secondary to ruptured splenic masses, and peritonitis secondary to a perforated or ruptured abdominal viscus.  

Certain cardiovascular and pulmonary conditions are best treated with surgery.  Although most cases of patent ductus arteriosus are now treated non-surgically with vascular coils, some still require surgical ligation.  Pericardectomy for treatment of both neoplastic and non-neoplastic pericardial effusions is commonly performed as a means to alleviate cardiac tamponade.  Lung lobe resection for neoplasia or bullae (as seen in this photo) and ligation of the thoracic duct for chylous effusions are some of the other conditions requiring thoracotomy.  These types of advanced surgery require specialized anesthetic support and monitoring such as mechanical ventilation, pulse oximetry, end-tidal carbon dioxide, and arterial blood gas analysis.