We believe strongly in using the newest and safest anesthetics and pain control medications, as well as careful monitoring during anesthesia.
Our highly trained staff monitors our surgical patients closely.
We use intravenous fluids, gas anesthetics, IV pain medications and newer short acting medications such as Propofol which allow your pet to awaken quickly from their anesthetic.
Our newest monitoring devices measure blood oxygen, respiration, EKG and blood pressures.
We participate in the PUP and SNIP spay/neuter voucher programs for low-income owners as a community service.
We are equipped to perform all basic soft tissue surgeries, such as spays, neuters, castrations, tumor removals, intestinal surgeries, bladder surgeries, or any other soft tissue surgery
We have a consulting orthopedic surgeon who is available to perform many different types of orthopedic surgeries at our clinic, including ruptured cruciate ligaments, fracture repairs, and many others.
Health Benefits of Spays and Neuters
Spays(ovario-hysterectomies) and Neuters(castrations) are the most common surgeries performed on cats and dogs, so it is worth going into more detail about. Here is a short list of reasons why it is healthy and safer to spay or neuter your animal:
Health benefits resulting from spays for females includes the reduced chance of breast cancer and uterine infections. Breast cancer has a 90% mortality rate in cats, so it is very important to eliminate that possibility. Breast cancer in dogs is 50/50 malignant vs benign. The chance of breast cancer is almost directly related to how many heat cycles an animal has gone through, so spaying early is very helpful (4-6 months of age).Diseases such as pyometra (a pus filled uterus) are common in older unsprayed female dogs and cats and can cause life threatening illness from septicemia which requires emergency surgery.
Health benefits from neuters for males include the reduced chance of testicular, prostate and other cancers. Intact male dogs often get benign prostate enlargement which can affect ability to urinate or defecate, as well as prostatic infections. In addition, castration can help avoid many behavioral issues in males such as urine marking in the house, tendency to roam, and aggression towards other dogs and even humans in some cases.
Some owners have concerns about anesthetic safety. We provide safe, carefully monitored anesthetics for your best friend, and can discuss options for shorter acting preanesthetics, pain control and any concerns you may have at the time of the surgery or beforehand. Many of the medications we use for anesthesia, such as propofol, isoflurane gas, etc are the same anesthetics used in humans. Here at Laporte animal clinic, we monitor respiration, ECG, heart rate, blood pressure and anesthetic depth carefully and treat your pets as we would our own. IV catheters are in place in case extra medications are needed for safety.
Lastly, a common misconception of spays and neuters is that it will cause your animal to put on weight more easily. This isn’t true. As long as the animal continues to have plenty of exercise and a healthy diet, the procedure won’t lead to any excess weight gain.