We do things a little differently here at Whispering Pines Pet Clinic than most veterinarians.  Dr. Weber is a board certified canine and feline specialist and we are committed to the highest quality care for your pet so we do things more like a human hospital would.  Even though this seems like a routine surgery, it is actually a major procedure and it still requires general anesthesia and there is always a potential for complications.  Our goal is to minimize these complications as much as possible — a 99% success rate is not good enough for the other 1% of the pets.  For this discussion, more in-depth articles and explanations can be accessed by clicking on the hyperlinks.  All of the linked products and information are the same brands utilized at our clinic.

First, we require an examination prior to the surgery to see if there is anything obviously wrong with your pet that could cause problems during the procedure.  Then, we do a pre-anesthetic blood panel (consisting of a complete blood count and 14-test chemistry panel) to make sure that there is no evidence of kidney, liver, pancreas or infectious problems that could lead to complications.  Next, we place an intravenous catheter and give your pet IV fluids during surgery to support his/her circulation and administer continuous pain medications (which are mixed into the fluids).  This helps prevent problems like kidney failure and heart complications and makes for a much smoother anesthesia.  It also provides us an intravenous access in case anything should go wrong during surgery.  Then we neuter your pet, using a surgical laser which reduces pain, swelling and bleeding to the point that most surgeries are almost bloodless.  We use the safest gas anesthesia and oxygen combination, keeping him/her on a Bair Hugger heating blanket so recovery goes as smoothly as possible, and monitoring his/her heart rate and rhythm, blood oxygen level, respirations and body temperature using a wireless Bluetooth computerized surgery monitor. 

When we are done with surgery we let your pet recover in a heated ICU unit or padded cage (depending on their size) and watch him/her closely until they are completely awake.  When we send them home they get more pain medications for the next few days to help their recovery be as comfortable as possible.

Our costs for the spay and neuter procedures are similar to those at other local veterinarians, but many of them will not do IV fluids and/or bloodwork or will consider these procedures to be “optional.”  Some will not even place an IV catheter or use gas anesthesia.  There are no local veterinarians to our knowledge that offer laser surgery and there are only two other Board-Certified Canine and Feline Practice specialists in Butte County.  Please call our office if you would like a price quote and make sure you know how much your dog or cat weighs.  And when you call around to compare prices, make sure you ask about pre-operative bloodwork, IV catheter and fluids and gas anesthesia.

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