Laser Surgery  

Banks Animal Hospital is now equipped with a state of the art laser equipment that will enable us to perform laser surgeries on our patients. With laser surgery, pain and bleeding is greatly minimized affording a quicker recovery for our surgical patients.   

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Surgical Considerations

All surgeries at Banks Animal Hospital are done with the utmost care and with the safety of your pet as a top priority. Most surgeries are completed with your dog or cat under a general anesthetic. All anesthetics have an inherent risk but by using the safest, most modern anesthetics available we can ensure that everything will run smoothly.

When you bring your pet to Banks Animal Hospital for surgery we will always offer to do a pre-surgical blood screen. This is a quick and painless test to check the serum levels of the most important blood chemistries. Abnormalities in blood chemistry are uncommon in young animals but it is vital to detect disorders in kidney and liver function tests since these organs are important for the elimination of anesthetic agents.

All animals over 3 years of age are placed on an intravenous fluid drip during surgery to help maintain blood pressure and to provide an I.V. access for drug administration should a problem arise.

Animals over 5 years of age are also given an ECG before surgery to make sure that the heart is functioning properly and if your pet is over 8 years of age a geriatric blood screen is also completed before surgery. These tests insure that your pet receives the best possible care and helps to minimize the chances of any anesthetic complications.

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Neutering

Most male dogs and virtually all cats are neutered or castrated unless they are kept for breeding. The only behaviors that will be affected by castration are the ones that are under the influence of male hormones.

A dog's temperament, training, personality and ability to do work are a result of genetics and upbringing, not its male hormones. Some behaviors that will be reduced or eliminated in the dog include attraction to female dogs, roaming, mounting, masturbation, urine marking and aggression. Castration also eliminates the possibility of testicular cancer and greatly reduces the chance of your pet getting prostate disease. Cats that are neutered are much less likely to spray, fight, and roam. When male cats fight a common outcome is a cat bite abscess. This can mean a costly vet bill and unnecessary pain and suffering for your pet. Neutered cats also tend not to spray and the urine of a castrated cat is much less odiferous.

Neutering dogs is very safe and only requires a one night stay in the hospital. At Banks Animal Hospital we recommend that all cats and dogs be neutered if not being used for breeding. The best age to have this procedure done for your pet is between 5 and 6 months of age.

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Spaying

Spaying is the removal of the female reproductive tract. The surgery is also referred to as an ovariohysterectomy and means that the uterus and ovaries are both removed. This eliminates the heat cycles and any chance your pet could become pregnant. Contrary to popular belief spayed dogs or cats do not become any fatter and lazier than unspayed ones. Spaying is a very safe procedure and only requires a one night stay in the hospital. At Banks Animal Hospital we recommend that all cats and dogs be spayed if not being used for breeding. The best age to have this procedure done for your pet is between 4 and 6 months of age. We now offer laser surgery for the above procedure.

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Orthopedic Surgery

Hopefully your pet never sustains a fracture, dislocation or a ruptured tendon but if he or she does have such an accident then an orthopedic surgeon may be called in to repair the damage. Orthopedics is a branch of surgery involving bones. The doctors at Banks Animal Hospital sometimes repair broken bones using pins, screws, bone plates, wires, casts or splints. A difficult surgery may require the expertise of a board-certified veterinary surgeon. Please contact us if you have any questions regarding this challenging branch of veterinary medicine.

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Soft Tissue Surgery

Soft tissue surgery refers to any surgical procedure that does not involve surgery on the bones, tendons or cartilage. Examples include exploratory surgeries of the abdomen and major organs or skin surgeries such as laceration repair. In most cases the veterinarians at the Banks Animal Hospital are able to do these procedures, however, in some complicated cases we may recommend a board-certified veterinary surgeon or specialist to do the procedure.

If you have a question regarding a particular type of surgery please feel free to call and speak to one of our veterinarians.

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