General Surgery

We offer advanced surgical techniques and technology. All patients are carefully screened for anesthetic risk,  and a balanced anesthetic protocol is specifically tailored to your pet. Surgical services include advanced sterilization techniques, intravenous fluids, ECG, respiration, blood pressure and oxygen saturation monitors, and full blood testing.  Even small details, such as warm air blankets during surgery, are of utmost importance to us. 

Along with routine elective surgeries, such as spays and neuters, we also offer more advanced procedures, such as laparotomy (foreign body removal),  intestinal resection and anastomosis, cystotomy (bladder surgery), gastropexy,  complex tumor removals, eye surgery, stifle (knee) and hip surgery, complex abdominal organ surgery, and more.

Effective pain management before, during, and after surgery is essential.  We utilize local anesthetic blocks, constant rate infusions of pain medications, and epidural anesthetics, in addition to our balanced anesthesia protocols, to ensure a comfortable and safe experience for your pet

Anesthesia and Pain Management

Scheduling surgery or dental work for your pet can be a daunting proposition.  Every procedure carries some measure of risk, and sometimes it's tough to think about your loved ones under anesthesia.  Here are a few important points to ponder, when considering anesthesia for your pet:

• Anesthetic complications are very uncommon, and deaths are even more rare.  Our well-trained veterinary team will take every reasonable precaution - including having knowledgeable staff, appropriate monitoring procedures, and proper patient evaluation and preparation - to minimize these risks.
• All anesthesia is not the same, and not all veterinary hospitals provide the same level of anesthetic care and monitoring.  We take great care to tailor a balanced anesthetic protocol for each pet, which minimizes risk.  We use the latest monitoring equipment, including blood pressure, ECG, pulse oximetry, and CO2 measurements, to ensure the safest possible procedure for each patient.  Body temperature can decrease rapidly during anesthesia, and cause prolonged recovery -  we take great care to provide warming support during a procedure, so each patient wakes up comfortable, and as warm as when they fell asleep.
• Pain management, both before and after a surgical or dental procedure, is very important as well. We practice preemptive pain management (treating pain before it happens) to decrease pain overall, using local anesthetic blocks, constant rate infusions, pain patches, and injectable pain medications.

Orthopedic Surgery

Our doctors have many years of experience and advanced training in many routine and specialized surgical procedures.  Cruciate ligament (ACL) repairs, luxating patella surgeries, femoral head ostectomies and fracture repairs, are a few of the surgeries that are performed. 

Some cases require a board certified surgeon. We can then coordinate referrals to Bellingham and Seattle area surgeons, if needed.