Buster was booked in for castration, so he had nothing to eat from six o’clock the night before. He arrived at the surgery and was greeted by the reception team. A veterinary nurse came up to meet him and go through the admission forms with his owner. After answering any last-minute questions, she sat with Buster while his owner left. Buster was weighed so we could work out accurate drug doses for him, then taken through to the kennels and settled into a comfy bed.
A quick blood sample was taken so we could check his organ function before he was given an anaesthetic. Once the blood results came back all clear, Buster was given his pre-med injection which would make him calm and sleepy. He then had a cannula inserted into the vein in his right foreleg and was given intravenous fluids to support him during the operation.
Buster’s pre-med soon took effect and he was given an intravenous anaesthetic through the cannula in his leg. This made him unconscious very quickly and allowed the surgeon to insert an endotracheal tube into his trachea. The tube was connected to the anaesthetic machine which would supply Buster with gaseous anaesthesia for the duration of the operation.
The operation site was then clipped and scrubbed to make it sterile for surgery.Buster was kept warm and monitored by his dedicated RVN throughout the operation and recovery.
After a quiet afternoon sleeping off his anaesthetic, Buster was ready to go home. A Veterinary Nurse went through all the discharge instructions with his owner and Buster trotted off quite happily. He came back after three days for his post-op check and everything was looking fine. Buster was getting used to wearing his Elizabethan collar which stopped him from licking and chewing at his wound, allowing it to heal nicely. Buster wasn’t too impressed at not being allowed any exercise, but this is essential following any surgical procedure.
After a further seven days, his final post-op check showed that his op wound had healed up well. He could now stop wearing the collar and start to gradually increase his exercise.
