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Surgical Suite

Dan Forth Animal Hospital Surgery

Our state-of-the-art surgical suite is fully equipped and has been designed for the comfort and safety of our patients. As a safety precaution, a pre-anesthetic blood workup is performed on all pets undergoing general anesthesia. This blood work "snap shot" provides us insight on the animal's current health status allowing us to select the safest anesthetic for your pet. If the blood work indicates a problem, we will postpone elective procedures and contact you right away. Pain medication will be sent home when needed. A doctor will discuss these options with you before the procedure. When your pet is recovering from anesthesia we will give you a phone call to let you know how he or she is doing. We can then schedule a convenient pick up time so the doctor may discuss postoperative care details with you.

We currently offer several forms of cranial cruciate ligament (ACL) repair to help patients of all shapes and sizes, including Tibial Tuberosity Advancement, Tightrope, and lateral stabilization. While we do offer many orthopedic procedures in-house, we may refer complex cases, like hip joint replacement, to specialized orthopedic surgeons in the area. Early evaluations for orthopedic surgical cases can be initiated in our hospital by our skilled veterinary surgeons. MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) is a new tool recently made available for our patients on referral.

In 2003 Danforth Animal Hospital added a CO2 (carbon dioxide) surgical laser to our practice to provide the best quality care for our patients in need of an alternative to traditional surgical methods. The CO2 laser produces an invisible beam of intense light that vaporizes the water normally found in the skin and other soft tissue. Because the veterinarian can precisely control the laser, only a thin layer of tissue is removed, leaving the surrounding area unaffected. Cauterization is instantaneous resulting in a virtually bloodless procedure.

In many procedures, the laser can replace the scalpel and provide a better alternative to traditional surgery when necessary. With laser surgery pets tend to experience less pain, less swelling and less bleeding. As a result laser surgery patients typically heal more quickly which can speed recuperation times. Generally, a faster recuperation means returning to normal activities sooner.

Soft palate re-sectioning, repair of stenotic nares (narrowed nasal passages), as well as many other specialized procedures are also available. Many common conditions such as cysts, tumors, warts (papillomas) and other lesions can be quickly and safely removed utilizing the precision of the laser.