General anaesthetics

Most of our anaesthetics involve the latest and safest in veterinary anaesthetics. Our patients wake up quickly, maximising safety and allowing them to return home on the same day.

We have a separate recovery/intensive care unit, so we can monitor our patients closely during recovery.

Pain relief and antibiotics, if necessary, are given to all patients post operatively.

Anaesthetics are monitored by a qualified veterinary nurse with the assistance of respiratory, pulse and oxygen monitors.

Equipment such as oxygen administration, IV fluid therapy pumps, blood transfusions, ventilation and pathology allows us to perform medical and surgical procedures at a high level.

Desexing

Desexing or sterilising your pet is a surgical procedure. In male pets it is commonly referred to as “castration”, and in female pets as “speying”. These procedures stop your pet form being able to reproduce.

We will need to admit your pet to hospital for the day.

When you ring to book in your pet you will be asked to fast your pet from food, give them a bath and you will also be given a time to drop them off in the morning. Allow 15 -20 mins for this, as one of our Certificate IV Veterinary Nurses will run through a Pre -anasetheic check for your pet. WE will check your pets heart and lungs and go through what will happen today. They will ask you lots of questions and this is your time to ask them what ever you need to know or if you have any concerns. They will get you to sign a consent form stating that you are the legal owner of the patient and that you understand the procedure.

Your pet will then be taking to day surgery and given a warm cosy bed. We may take blood, put up IV fluids and prepare you pet for surgery.

They will be given a premeditation about 20 mins prior to surgery.

We will contact you when they are back in recovery and sitting up, to let you know that all went well and to confirm a time for discharge.

At discharge one of our nurses will discuss the post -op care, medications and further visits that may be necessary for stitch removal etc.

We recommend that all pets, that you don’t want to breed from, are sterilised between 4-6 months of age. ( with a minimum weight of 2.5 kgs), but we can sterilize at any age, they are never to old.

There are many benefits to desexing your pet prior to 6 months. They include:

• Preventing unwanted litters, which can be very costly, and may add to the already overwhelming number of stray animals that are put down each year.
• Prevention of testicular cancer and prostate disease in males, and it prevents pyometra (infection of the uterus) and may reduce mammary tumours (breast cancer) in females.
• Stopping the “heat” cycle in females.
• Decreasing aggression towards humans and other animals, especially in males.
• Being less prone to wander, especially in males.
• Living a longer and healthier life.
• Reduction of council / Shire registration fees.

Orthopaedic

Orthopaedic Surgery relates to any surgery involving bone or joints. Our veterinarians have a high level of expertise in this area and can attend to most orthopaedic surgeries.

The most common surgeries that we do are:

• Cranial Cruciate Repair (CCR) – this surgery involves the stifle (in our patients and the knee if you are a footballer). It is usually an acute problem – one that happens quickly – resulting in lameness, usually after jumping, twisting or landing awkwardly.
• Fracture Repair- is the repair of a broken bone. We usually repair these by putting in pins or pates and screws. In our experience, our patients get a far superior results this way, rather than using casts.
• Amputation- is the removal of a piece of bone or an entire limb, due to trauma or possibly disease ie cancer. Depending on the age and weight of our patients they cope extremely well and adapt to a normal life style quickly.

Soft Tissue

Soft tissue covers most of the other surgery that we do, not related to bone and joints.

It is everything form sterilization, caesareans, mass removal, stitch up, removal of foreign bodies( usually something your pet as eaten), aural haematomas, mastectomy…. the list goes on and on.

After desexing, our most common soft tissue surgery is mass removal. This the removal of lumps and bumps. We remove masses for two main reasons:

1. To make sure that the mass isn’t nasty (cancer), or can turn nasty.
2. To give better mobility- range of movement.

Dental

ust like humans our pets need dental attention periodically. It may be that we are more aware of our pets needs, or that they are up closer and more personal with us. It may be that they are living long or that we want to give them the best. But dental care for pet is rapidly becoming an area of great importance in the overall health of our pets.

Dental disease starts with a build bacteria in your pets mouth. This combined with the saliva and any bits of food left in their mouths combine to cause plaque to stick to their teeth. the plaque turns into tartar as calcium salts are deposited. And as with us this leads to gum disease called gingivitis or periodontal disease. 

It is advised that we visit a dentist very 12 months – our pets age about 7 years in 12 months.

Periodontal disease in you  pet may present with any of the following:

• inflamed gums
• bleeding gums
• yellow-brown Tatar build up
• bad breath
• pawing at the face or mouth
• changes in eating habits
• excessive drooling or reluctant to swallow
• pain or aversion to touch their month or teeth.
• weight loss
• it may also effect heart and kidney health

We can help limit periodontal disease with diet and lifestyle and /or brushing.

At Albany Veterinary Hospital we have all attended many hours of training with a Veterinary Dental Specialist, so we can give your pets the best dental care possible. If needed we can clean, scale and polish your pets teeth for a brilliant smile. This is the same treatment that you would get when visiting your dentist for a ‘check-up’. But unlike us our pets are reluctant to lay on there backs with their months open….. so we need to anesthetise them to do a comprehensive clean and ensure that all is well.

When your pet is discharged one of our registered vet nurses will discuss home care and further prevention. This is only day surgery and your pet will love you for it.

Opthalmic

Ophthalmic surgery involves anything to do your pets eyes.

There is a lot of equipment required to perform an eye examination well. 

Malcolm has a special interest in ophthalmology and has attended many hours of training in this field. One of our consult rooms has been adapted to be the best environment for  eye examination.

We are fully equipped to perform:

• tonometry – which enables us to determine intraocular pressure – useful for the diagnosis of disease like glaucoma and uveitis
• corneal debridment and treatment of corneal ulcers and trauma
• enucleation- eye removal in case of disease or trauma
• entropian and ectropian surgery
• removal of eye lid tumors or growths
• corrective surgery 
• removal of foreign bodies

Specialist Referrals

We have good relationships with a number of referral centres in Perth and are able to refer you to a specialist where necessary. Attention by a specialist, whilst expensive, is able to maximise patient outcomes in difficult and complex situations. If specialist attention is recommended we will be sure to advise of this option but if it is something you would like to access and we haven’t mentioned it please don’t be afraid to ask about it.