Presurgical Questions - Desert Hills Animal Hospital

We understand the apprehension of leaving your companion with us at Desert Hills Animal Hospital for a procedure requiring anesthesia. There are often questions about anesthesia and preparation for a procedure. Here are some that we get often:

How do I make an appointment?
We do anesthesia procedures Monday-Friday. We usually can get appointments scheduled within 7-10 days. To schedule a procedure please call and we will make whatever arrangements are necessary.

Is surgery safe?
No surgery is ever 100% safe. We always weigh the benefits against the drawbacks of a procedure. We try to reduce the chance of any problems by making sure you have given us a good history on the patient and we have done a physical examination. Additional procedures like presurgical blood work, EKG and chest x-rays are all things we can do to reduce the risks of a procedure.

It should be known that we do 4-5 anesthetic procedures daily.

What do I do after a surgery is scheduled?
When you schedule a surgical procedure we will give you specific instructions for your companion. Most of the time we will have you not give any food after midnight the night before the procedure. You can take away the water first thing in the morning.

You will need to bring the patient in between 7:30-9:00am.

If there are any special instructions due to the patient or the procedure we will give you those specific instructions at the time the appointment is scheduled.

We will try very hard to reach you the day before the procedure to refresh your memory about your particular instructions.