The Right Care for Every Case
The veterinarians at Kaua'i North Shore Animal Clinic perform a wide range of surgical procedures in our state-of-the-art surgical suite. Our team is committed to providing safe, high quality surgical care, from pre-anesthetic exam and testing through your pet’s recovery.
Our doctors perform a variety of surgical procedures:
- Spays and neuters
- Mass removals
- Laceration repairs
- Tooth extractions
- Abdominal surgeries
- Treatment of abscesses
- Minor orthopedics
Orthopedic Surgery
This type of surgery can repair or replace cartilage or bone, correct fractures, and correct congenital disabilities or abnormalities. We partner with a board certified surgeon who travels to Kaua’i to perform scheduled, complex surgical procedures. Cases of an urgent nature may be referred to our referral partner, VERC on Oahu.
Cryosurgery
Kaua'i North Shore Animal Clinic is pleased to offer patients the benefits of cryosurgery when appropriate. In cryosurgery, liquid nitrogen is used to freeze unwanted tissue such as tumors, skin tags, and cysts. Cryosurgery is less invasive than traditional surgery, and recovery time is much shorter. In many cases, no sedation is necessary.
Cautery
Kaua'i North Shore Animal Clinic utilizes cautery in a number of surgeries, often to facilitate a faster healing process. Cautery is effective for skin tags and hemangiomas and helps with incision repair.
Our Level of Care Puts Your Pet on the Path to Healing
At Kaua'i North Shore Animal Clinic, you’ll have a full team dedicated to your pet’s surgery, including an anesthesia technician and surgery technician. Your pet will be the single focus of the entire surgical team. Throughout your pet’s treatment progress, pain management will be a major priority so that your pet is always comfortable. Your furry friend will even wear a cozy sweater so they’re kept warm as they recover.
Before Surgery
Pre-anesthetic blood work is an important step to ensure your pet is in good health prior to anesthesia. Blood work is like an internal exam. It helps us check organ function and gives us a better understanding of red blood cell, white blood cell and platelet counts so we can identify potential health risks before we administer anesthesia. Blood work also gives us a baseline as part of your pet's medical history. We use the baseline to measure their future health status more easily and to identify any subtle changes early.
If any of the results have us concerned, we can change the anesthetic plan or take other precautions to reduce the risk of possible complications during surgery. We can tailor your pet’s anesthetic, pain management, and recovery protocols to their individual needs. For example, we evaluate electrolyte levels before surgery. If there is an imbalance, we can adjust the pet’s fluid therapy treatment to improve recovery and overall health.
Arriving for Surgery
Patients typically arrive at 7:45 a.m. on the day of their scheduled surgery. During intake, the veterinary technician will review the treatment plan with you and answer any questions or concerns you might have. We will give you an approximate pick up time that works within your schedule and gets your furry companion home with you as soon as possible.
During Recovery
Keeping our patients warm and comfortable continues during recovery. Our technicians monitor each patient's comfort level closely during the recovery period. Whether that’s sitting with or holding a patient for extra time to ensure they are relaxed and comfortable, or providing extra warming procedures after surgery, you can be sure our team is treating your pet as if it were our own.
Follow-Up
At discharge the technician will go over medications and a detailed discharge plan. Depending on the procedure we may recommend seeing the patient back for a recheck exam. If there are concerns in the days following, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us for guidance.