Once you have made an appointment for your pet to be spayed, please offer a small meal at 10pm the night before the procedure and then withhold any further food. Access to the drinking water should be allowed until they are ready to come into the surgery.
Once admitted they will be examined by your vet and given a health check. If your pet is fit and healthy a premedication injection will be given. This helps calm the body and prepare her for the general anaesthetic. The premedication can take 20 - 45 minutes to take effect and they will be slightly sleepy and relaxed.
Once your pet is ready she will then be taken through to the Prep room. A small area of hair is clipped from her leg, an intravenous catheter is placed and a general anaesthetic is injected into the vein.
An endotracheal tube is then placed into her trachea to maintain a clear airway for us to administer an oxygen/gaseous anaesthetic mix to maintain the correct level of anaesthesia.
Once asleep under anaesthetic she will be prepared for theatre. Her veterinary nurse monitors her anaesthetic while shaving an area of hair from her abdomen (dogs are shaved on their tummy). Once the hair has been shaved the area is then cleaned using an antiseptic soap. Once all the dirt and hair has been removed a surgical spirit/antiseptic preparation is then applied to the operation site. This procedure is carried out to reduce any bacteria on the skin and provide a sterile operation site. All the hair will grow back in time. They are then transferred to theatre.
The nurse will carefully monitor the anaesthetic during the surgery. Your vet will perform an ovariohysterectomy where the uterus and ovaries are removed. This is a permanent and irreversible procedure. Once your vet has completed the surgery the gaseous anaesthetic is switched off and your pet will be maintained on oxygen for a short period of time.
Once the veterinary nurse is happy, we will then disconnect the anaesthetic circuit and transport your pet to the Hospital Ward where the endotracheal tube is removed when ready. She is placed into a warm kennel and her recovery is carefully monitored by the Hospital nurse (a qualified veterinary nurse). Once she is sitting up and alert, her intravenous catheter is removed and the Hospital nurse will contact you to update you on their progress and arrange a collection time. On discharge a veterinary nurse will explain all the necessary post- operative care.
We will only discharge a patient when we feel they are fully awake and are able to walk. Some pets take longer to fully recover than others and are treated on a case by case situation, so don’t panic if a late time is requested for collection.
The benefits of having your pet spayed:
- No more seasons – therefore no unwanted male visitors
- No more smelly / bloody discharge
- No unwanted puppies/kittens
- Reduced incidence of mammary tumours
- No ovarian tumours
- Will not suffer from a pyometra (infection in the uterus where it fills with pus and can be life threatening)
