The Cutting Edge... Laser Surgery for Pets!

Image of a cat.

It's doubtful that anyone would picture their family veterinarian swinging a light saber on the bridge of some galactic cruiser, but he or she may just have a similar technology available to help keep your pets comfortable during surgery.


For more than 30 years, human doctors have used various types of surgical lasers to help people heal faster and with less pain. Lasers are now used routinely to help correct eyesight, remove skin blemishes, and even destroy unwanted hair. But, it has only been within the past 10 years that veterinary medicine has started to utilize this same technology to provide a similar level of comfort for their patients.

Using a laser during surgery instead of a scalpel blade provides many advantages to the surgeon. First, due to the precise nature of lasers, the veterinarian is able finely tune the amount of tissue that is affected by the surgery, thereby reducing the damage to any of the surrounding area. Second, lasers will actually help to control bleeding by sealing off the tiny capillaries and vessels that may leak and ooze during normal surgeries. Third, lasers help to reduce the amount of swelling that is associated with any sort of surgery. By avoiding bruising and tearing of body tissue, lasers help the veterinarian to minimize inflammation. Fourth, since lasers vaporize cells, any latent bacteria that might want to start an infection will also be vaporized, helping to minimize potential post-operative infections. And finally, lasers reduce the amount of pain involved in surgeries by actually sealing the ends of nerves in the affected tissues. This stops the propagation of the pain impulse and will actually help the pet to heal faster!

By far, one of the most common uses of the surgical laser in the veterinary hospital is to perform declawing of cats. Although this elective surgery has many proponents and opponents, almost everyone would agree that the advent of using the laser for declawing procedures has helped minimize the trauma associated with the surgery. As mentioned above, lasers will actually seal small nerves, keeping them from transmitting painful impulses. Cats that have been declawed with a laser are often running and playing within hours of surgery. In contrast, older techniques of declawing cats have potentially kept a cat uncomfortable for several days afterwards.

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Office Hours

Our Regular Schedule

Park City Office

Monday:

8:00 am-5:30 pm

Tuesday:

8:00 am-5:30 pm

Wednesday:

8:00 am-5:30 pm

Thursday:

8:00 am-5:30 pm

Friday:

8:00 am-5:30 pm

Saturday:

8:00 am-1:00 pm

Sunday:

Closed

Testimonials

Feedback from our clients

  • "I want to thank Dr Carl for being the most compassionate vet I know. You took care our dog in an emergency, making room in your schedule, that very moment when she needed the most, when no other Vet in PC would. We are also very happy to have you taking the same good care of our Dexter, a strong 4 years old American Bulldog in such friendly way. Thank you for you being so great in what you do!"
  • "Dr. Prior's energy, skill and compassion have given each of our dogs a greater quality of life."
  • "I just wanted to say thank you for all your help today, not only for the help you provided Dozer but also for the help that you didn't have to provide for us. You are amazing people. I wish there were more people like you in the world. If not for you and the help you gave Dozer this would have turned out to be a totaly diffrent and very sad day for me and my family. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. YOU ARE TRUELY AMAZING PEOPLE!"