Surgeries and Dental Cleanings
Dr. Mike performs the surgeries at our clinic. He does both soft tissue and orthopedic procedures. Soft tissue surgeries include bladder stone removals, mass removals, spays, neuters and foreign body removals from the stomach or intestines. Orthopedic surgeries include fracture repairs, femoral head osteotomies (FHO's) and cruciate repairs using the extracapsular technique (i.e. fishing wire method). However, Dr. Mike does not do declaw surgeries on cats. At The Pet Wellness Clinic we believe most cats can be trained to use an appropriate scratching post. We also offer free nail trims for cats. There is also scientific evidence that shows declawed cats may have a higher incidence of behavior problems, like urinating outside the litterbox or biting, and may experience phantom pain from the toe amputations. For owners who insist on declawing their cats, we refer them to a clinic that uses a CO2 laser for the procedure. Declaws done with lasers bleed less and seem to be less painful for the cat. Before you consider a declaw for your cat, you should read this report on chronic pain associated with declaws:
http://www.cvmbs.colostate.edu/ivapm/professionals/members/newsletters/IVAPM%20May%202005.pdf
We do, however, offer laser surgery for other procedures. Laser surgery results in less bleeding, less pain and faster recoveries for pets. See the Laser Surgery link on the Services page for more information.
Dental cleanings are an important part of an animal's health. Dental
disease has become more of an issue with pets in recent years because they are
living longer than ever before. So they need those teeth to last longer!
Bacteria from diseased teeth travel through the bloodstream to the heart,
kidneys and liver and cause damage to those organs. It is not uncommon for
a pet with horrible teeth to have a heart murmur and elevated kidney and liver
values on bloodwork. Keeping the teeth and gums healthy not only keeps the
breath smelling fresh, it prevents organ damage from occurring. The only
way to properly clean teeth is with a professional ultrasonic scaling under
anesthesia. The ultrasonic activity removes the plaque above and below the
gum line. Rotten teeth or those with nerve exposure must be pulled because
they are painful. Polishing teeth after cleaning them is important to fill
in the microabrasions left behind from scraping the teeth. Otherwise,
plaque forms easily in those grooves. Finally, we apply Oravet gel to the
gum line, which further prevents plaque from forming on the teeth.
At The Pet Wellness Clinic, pain is not an option! All surgeries and dental cleanings receive pain medications, both an opioid (like morphine) and an anti-inflammatory.