For pet owners
Surgery is stressful, and recovery is usually the part nobody warns you about. This applies whether your pet is operated on at your own veterinarian's hospital or at our center in Lake Grove. Every pet and procedure differs, so treat it as the shape of things and let the team admitting your pet fill in the specifics.
Before surgery day
Ask about each of these before the day arrives rather than on the morning: your veterinarian's office, or ours if surgery is booked at the center.
The general guidance is no food or water for 6 to 12 hours before anesthesia, but confirm it with whoever is admitting your pet, whether that is your own practice or our center in Lake Grove, because it shifts with age, existing conditions and where your pet sits on the surgery list.
Diabetic pets are the exception: call your vet to agree a feeding and medication plan, because the usual rules do not apply.
Your veterinary team should know every medication and supplement your pet takes. Ask which to give and which to withhold, because it changes with the pet, the condition and the procedure.
You may be asked to bring certain medications with you, particularly for diabetes, heart conditions and seizures.
Most pets are groggy their first night home and need watching. Exercise will be restricted, and for how long depends on the procedure.
Cats still need litterbox access throughout. You may be advised to switch temporarily to a pellet or paper litter.
Drop-off day
Handing your pet over is the moment information gets lost. These are the things worth saying out loud.
Confirm the address the night before. Drop-off is at your own practice for a traveling surgery, or at our Lake Grove center. And if you are unsure whether something matters, say it anyway.
Ask these at drop-off, not at pickup when you are holding a sedated animal.
After surgery
The first night is the groggy one. The weeks after are where the repair is actually protected.
You go home with written care instructions and the medications your pet needs. Read them before you leave the car park.
How long and how strict depends entirely on the procedure. This is the part owners underestimate most, and the part that protects the repair.
It stops licking and chewing at the incision, and it is not optional. If you would rather use a soft or inflatable alternative, take it to your vet to check it suits the surgery, because not every alternative does. Ignoring the e-collar is how infections and burst sutures happen.
Book the post-surgical checks as directed, and sooner if anything worries you. Some procedures also need bandage changes or repeat radiographs, so arrange those with your veterinarian.
You need somewhere that stops running and jumping: a large kennel, or a small enclosed room.
For cats: keep the litterbox reachable, and consider switching to pellet or paper litter while the incision heals.
Next step
Call your own veterinarian first, and if it is surgical, call us. Nobody minds the question.