At Stonebridge Veterinary Wellness, we offer on-site surgical services, from routine spays and neuters, to specialty surgeries done by our board-certified surgeon!
All surgical patients undergo a thorough examination and preanesthetic bloodwork to identify possible underlying health conditions that might affect how anesthetic agents are handled or metabolized by the patient. Our patients are also given an anesthetic drug regimen that is tailored to each patient and provided with state-of-the-art anesthetic monitoring to reduce anesthetic risk. In addition, we also use state-of-the-art patient warming devices and techniques to keep pets warm during each procedure. Have peace of mind knowing that we always give treatment options and recommend what is best for your pet!
Commitment to your pet’s wellness is our main focus at Stonebridge Veterinary Wellness! In line with that commitment, we offer surgeries designed to be proactive about your pet’s future health. For example, spaying and neutering doesn’t just reduce overpopulation or prevent harmful genetic health conditions from being propagated in future generations. It also prevents uterine infections, ovarian cysts, and mammary, ovarian and uterine cancers in females, and testicular cancer and severe prostate infections in males, to name a few.
Gastropexy is another preventative surgery that prevents life-threatening gastric torsion (twisting of the stomach on itself) associated with bloat, thereby saving your dog’s life and avoiding an expensive emergency surgery. Bloat has many risk factors, such as deep chested breeds and dogs that eat quickly. Make an appointment with one of our doctors to discuss whether your dog has risk factors for bloat and would benefit from this surgery. As with any surgical procedure, it is important that the surgery is done by an experienced surgeon. Dr. Paster has 22+ years of experience preventing and treating bloat with surgery. Dr. Paster feels so strongly about the future benefits of this surgery for deep chested, large, and giant breed dogs, that she performs gastropexies on every one of her own dogs!
Did you know? Canine hip dysplasia is a common, debilitating and painful genetic condition where there is hip joint laxity leading to cartilage wear and osteoarthritis. Juvenile Pubic Symphysiodesis (JPS) is a surgery done on young puppies to alter growth of the pelvis such that hip laxity is reduced. There is a small window of time where this surgery can be effective, so it is critical to make an appointment for PennHIP screening at Stonebridge Veterinary Wellness when your puppy is 16 weeks old to determine your puppy’s risk for hip dysplasia and if they would be a good candidate for JPS surgery.
• Prevent or greatly reduce risk of future health problems
• Help to control pet overpopulation
• Decrease future hip osteoarthritis & joint pain
• Prevent life-threatening conditions like “bloat”
• Early investment to save money on future veterinary care
• Treat or cure cancer
• Improve quality of life
• Extend disease-free interval
• Lengthen life span
• Avoid chemotherapy and radiation therapy, if possible.
Oncologic surgery is a type of soft tissue surgery used to treat cancer. In some situations, cancer can be cured with surgery alone. In others, surgical excision is just one treatment modality used and may be combined with chemotherapy, and/ or radiation therapy, and depends on the type of cancer that we are fighting. Success of treatment can mean providing a cure, control of the local disease, or decreasing the risk of metastasis. Success largely depends on the size of the mass, tumor type, tumor location on the body, if the cancer has metastasized (spread) to other areas of the body, and if the surgery was done by a board-certified surgeon who has expertise with surgical oncology. The goal of oncologic surgery is to give your pet the best quality of life that we can, for as long as possible. At Stonebridge Veterinary Wellness, we can assist you with the diagnosis, staging and surgical treatment of your pet’s cancer. We know this process can be stressful and sometimes scary, but we will be there to guide and help you throughout the process so you can make the best choices for your pet’s success.
Did you know? The first time a surgery is done for cancer treatment to excise a mass, the best chance there is for a cure! Have our experienced board-certified surgeon do the surgery the first time, every time. Our goal is to try to cure the cancer with surgery, and avoid the need for chemotherapy or radiation therapy, if possible.
As your pet ages, you may notice more masses or lumps on their body. Make an appointment with us right away, when these masses are small. At Stonebridge Veterinary Wellness, we are committed to helping you to identify which masses are benign or malignant early on, and map these on the body so we can help you keep track of old and new ones each visit, and how they may be changing over time. With early diagnosis, combined with surgical treatment done by our board- certified surgeon the first time, we can improve success of cancer treatment together!
Soft tissue surgery is surgical treatment performed on all tissues except for the musculoskeletal and nervous systems. This mainly includes surgical treatment for the skin, urinary, respiratory, gastrointestinal, endocrine, and other systems. For example, surgery is done on the urinary system for pets with bladder stones. For dogs and cats that have dietary indiscretion, we can remove gastrointestinal blockages like socks, rocks, and even dental floss, to save their life! Some hernias also can be life threatening and require repair. Wound repair is also an important part of soft tissue surgery, where skin flaps and grafts are used to close large wounds or those with delayed healing.
Did you know? With the popularity of brachycephalic (short-muzzled or flat-faced) breeds, most people don’t realize that the loud snoring and grunting noises are not normal. The noise is actually caused by redundant and elongated tissue that obstructs breathing in the nasal passages and throat. Most brachycephalic dogs need surgical intervention to open their nasal passages, and trim tissues in the back of the throat that interfere with breathing. Although surgery doesn’t make their airway “normal,” it greatly improves airflow and breathing, while decreasing the snoring and grunting sounds. Surgery also decreases the risk of respiratory emergencies and death in these dogs. However, it is imperative that the surgery is done properly for the greatest clinical improvement and best results! Dr. Paster has more than 20+ years of experience helping brachycephalic dogs breath better, and she would love to help your pet as well!
• Improve breathing by opening the airway
• Treatment of urinary stones
• Removing gastric & intestinal obstructions
• Foxtail removal
• Hernia repair
• Prevent or treat chronic infections
• Wound repair
• Treat joint pain & lameness
• Reduce osteoarthritis
• Repair bone fractures
• Restore athleticism
• Improve quality of life
Orthopedic surgery involves surgery on bones, ligaments and tendons. Fracture repairs, ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) repairs such as TPLO and Extracapsular repair, meniscal tears, and patella luxation repairs are the most common. FHO (Femoral Head Ostectomy) is a common surgery performed to treat hip conditions in dogs and cats and is an alternative option to total hip replacement. Young puppies that have a debilitating developmental condition called Osteochondritis Dissecans, or OCD, have painful defects in their cartilage with a loose cartilage flap and can greatly benefit from surgical treatment. Other surgeries can include synthetic ligament repairs, tendon repairs, or fusion of lax or injured joints. All orthopedic surgeries are performed by Dr. Erin Paster, our board-certified surgeon, and she will always provide recommendations and options with the patient’s best interest in mind.
Did you know? Timing of fracture repairs is extremely important, especially in puppies and kittens, as well as fractures involving growth plates or joints! Depending on your pet’s age and type of fracture, the window of time for the best success of a surgical repair can be days, or maybe up to a couple of weeks. After this window, repair of a fracture can be extremely difficult or potentially impossible. In addition, some fractures can cause other problems, such as muscle contracture, scarring, osteoarthritis, or limitations in joint movement, when they aren’t repaired within an ideal window of time. Make an appointment at Stonebridge Veterinary Wellness as soon as possible after a fall or injury so our team can evaluate the extent of the injury and get your pet on the road to recovery right away. If a fracture or joint injury is diagnosed, we will schedule repair with our board-certified surgeon. Dr. Paster and the team at Stonebridge Veterinary Wellness want your pet to have the best success with fracture and joint healing so they can get back to the fun activities and sports they love.
Don’t put your pet’s future wellness and quality of life at risk! We recommend:
-Bringing your pet in for an exam ASAP after an injury
-Scheduling surgical repairs within the window of time we recommend
-Ensuring the surgery is done by an experienced board-certified surgeon
Board-certified surgeons are also called Diplomates of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons (DACVS).
To achieve this title, a veterinarian must go through rigorous training above and beyond what is required to become a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. A Diplomate of the ACVS must complete a year- long rotating internship after graduating from veterinary school, followed by a three- year surgical residency that meets the standards of the ACVS college. This training is the equivalent of a human medical doctor that is pursuing surgery as a specialty. Some Diplomates have also completed additional training with surgical specialty internships or research fellowships. With these criteria met, the surgeon must pass a two- day examination that tests a broad base of surgical knowledge, to become a Diplomate of the ACVS.
Board-certified surgeons have undergone training in soft tissue, oncologic, orthopedic and neurosurgery, which make them especially qualified to handle intricate and complicated surgical procedures.
Did you know? Anyone who performs surgery can call themselves a “surgeon,” regardless of experience, skill or training. Only board-certified surgeons have undergone the rigorous training and passed the surgery specialty board exam. Make sure you request a board- certified veterinary surgeon, such as Dr. Erin Paster, for your pet’s surgical procedure.
Stonebridge Veterinary Wellness provides a wide range of surgery services for your pet, from minor to complex surgeries. We perform spay/neuter procedures, mass removals, wound repairs, oncologic surgeries, orthopedic surgeries, soft tissue surgeries, preventative surgeries and more urgent procedures. We have associate veterinarians and a board-certified surgeon who are available for surgical care. Call us at Stonebridge Veterinary Wellness to schedule an exam so we can establish care with you and your pet, and provide an accurate estimate for your pet’s surgical procedure.
The Stonebridge Veterinary Wellness team discusses instructions to prep you for your pet’s surgical visit. Follow the pre-surgical instructions, including fasting, and inform our veterinarian about any medications your pet takes. We will also discuss expectations for post-operative care, so you can have everything prepared when your pet recuperates at home.
Every pet has different anesthetic risks based on age, genetics, breed, health conditions and health status. However, with preoperative examination, diagnostic screening, treatment of health conditions and close monitoring, we can decrease this risk substantially. Our Stonebridge Veterinary Wellness team will perform pre-anesthetic bloodwork and an examination prior to surgery. We want to make sure we know their overall health status prior to anesthesia. If there is additional, more focused diagnostic screening needed to determine if your pet is a safe candidate for anesthesia, we will discuss this with you in advance. We want your pet to be in the best health they can be, prior to undergoing anesthesia, whenever possible. During anesthesia, we assign an experienced team member to monitor your pet closely to ensure the anesthesia proceeds as safely as possible during surgery. In addition, we use state-of-the-art monitoring equipment during surgery to monitor trends in vital signs, and detect changes in parameters early.
Recovery varies by procedure but typically ranges from a few days to a few weeks, for routine or minor surgeries. More involved surgeries, such as orthopedic procedures performed by our board- certified surgeon, can have recoveries lasting a few months. Our veterinarians and board- certified surgeon at Stonebridge Veterinary Wellness will provide detailed aftercare instructions to help your pet heal. It is important that you follow our aftercare instructions in order to give your pet their best opportunity for a complication- free recovery.
Yes, post- operative pain management is provided to ensure your pet’s comfort during recovery. Stonebridge Veterinary Wellness provides multi- modal pain control for your pet, to target and subdue different pain- causing pathways. If you prefer a consultation with Dr. Venable, our veterinarian certified in pain management, we can make those arrangements and implement her additional recommendations for your pet’s pain management plan.
When your pet can safely eat and drink, and what type of food is recommended, depends on the surgical procedure. Most pets can have small amounts of water first, followed by a very small meal once they are fully awake and alert. Following your pet’s surgical procedure, the Stonebridge Veterinary Wellness team will go over these aftercare instructions with you.
CALL US AT 916-773-8578 and speak directly to one of our
team members. WE CAN’t WAIT TO HEAR FROM YOU!
Monday–Friday: 8 AM–6 PM
Saturday: 9 AM–2 PM
Sunday: Closed
