pet surgery and dentistry

We provide a safe and clean environment for your pet’s procedure.

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When your pet needs surgery, we’ll make sure all boxes are checked.

 

We’re not just Holistic. We are Wholistic! That means we are here for you when your pet needs surgery as well. From responsible spay and neutering to mass removals, emergency surgery, and orthopedics, we’ve got you! And you can always rest assured we’re using the safest anesthesia protocols and monitoring available. Don’t worry – our commitment to gentle and responsible medicine carries into the surgery room with us.

Our veterinary team is highly skilled and experienced in performing a wide variety of pet surgeries using modern techniques and cutting-edge equipment while always adhering to the strictest standards of safety and care. We’ll also be sure to answer any and all questions you may have to relieve any stress over your pet’s operation.

We monitor our patients closely to keep them as safe as possible during procedures that require general anesthesia. A veterinary technician will continually assess your pet’s heart and respiratory rate, blood pressure, and other vital signs to help prevent any anesthetic risk.

Before the operation, we’ll make sure to answer any and all questions you may have about the operation and what you’ll need after the operation. You’ll be given updates on your pet throughout the procedure, and we’ll be sure to go over all of the post-operative care with you.

Once the operation is complete, we’ll go over all of the at-home care steps with you to make sure your pet heals properly and gets back to feeling great in no time.

Learn more about our surgical services!

LASER SURGERY

Surgical lasers have become a very important part of veterinary medicine. The advent of the surgical laser has improved the treatment of many disease states previously treated with a scalpel or electrosurgical unit. For surgery, lasers offer a number of advantages for pets, including:

  • Less bleeding
  • Less pain
  • Reduced risk of infection
  • Faster recovery

The veterinary laser provides the surgeon with improved hemostasis while significantly reducing pain and swelling due to its unique properties.

We use the surgical laser for declaws, mass removals, gingival hyperplasia, and other miscellaneous surgeries.

NEUTERING
Neutering your pet has many benefits. The procedure, which prevents male animals from reproducing, can help your dog or cat live a longer, healthier life. Neutering will not change your pet’s personality.

By neutering your pet, you’re reducing or eliminating his risk for prostate and testicular cancer, as well as sexually transmitted diseases. Neutering will also reduce or eliminate undesirable and embarrassing behavior, including roaming, fighting, humping, and spraying. In addition, neutering your pet will help control the dog and cat overpopulation problem, keeping more animals out of shelters.

Neutering, which involves removing the testicles, is a surgical procedure and does need to be performed with the pet under anesthesia. We follow strict protocols and continually monitor your pet’s vital signs to help ensure his safety. Please see the descriptions below about anesthesia and patient monitoring for more information on what we do to keep your pet safe.

ORTHOPEDIC SURGERY
We perform many types of orthopedic (bone) surgeries in our clinic. Because we want to ensure that our patients receive the best possible outcome, we occasionally refer them to board-certified orthopedic surgeons to perform back surgery and other very complex surgeries.

Leg fractures are the most common orthopedic problem presented at our clinic and usually result from a mishap with an automobile. They can be treated in a variety of ways, depending on the location and type of fracture. We can apply a cast to treat certain fractures; however, many fractures will require surgical intervention:

• “Pinning” stabilizes the fracture by inserting a long stainless steel rod into the middle of the bone across the fractured area.
• “Plating” involves attaching a flat stainless steel plate to the bone using screws on either side of the fracture.
•“External fixation” stabilizes fractures using a series of pins on the outside of the leg that pass through the skin and into the bone on either side of the fracture.
We also perform a lot of orthopedic surgeries related to hip dysplasia and disc disease.

We also perform a lot of orthopedic surgeries related to hip dysplasia and disc disease.

SPAYING
Spaying your pet has many benefits. The procedure, which prevents female animals from becoming pregnant and reproducing, can help your dog or cat live a longer, healthier life. Spaying will not change your pet’s personality.

By spaying your female pet, you’re protecting her against potentially deadly diseases, including bacterial infections, reproductive tract diseases, and several types of cancer. You also won’t have to worry about her going into heat. This means avoiding the mess that often accompanies the heat cycle in female dogs and the pacing and crying that happens with female cats. In addition, spaying your pet will help control the dog and cat overpopulation problem, keeping more animals out of shelters.

Spaying, which involves removing the ovaries and uterus, is a surgical procedure and does need to be performed with the pet under anesthesia. We follow strict protocols and continually monitor your pet’s vital signs to help ensure her safety. Please see the descriptions below about anesthesia and patient monitoring for more information on what we do to keep your pet safe.

SOFT TISSUE SURGERY
We perform many types of soft tissue surgeries at our clinic. Soft tissue surgeries are those that are not associated with bone. These surgeries can provide many benefits to pets.

Probably the most common soft tissue surgery performed on pets is the removal of masses or lumps. Most of these masses, once removed and tested, are found to be benign (non-harmful); however, occasionally, they are more serious. Early removal and accurate diagnosis of a lump are necessary to improve the outcome in your pet if the mass is cancerous.

If your dog suffers from frequent ear infections, surgical intervention can reduce their occurrence by improving airflow into the ear canal.

Surgery can also help resolve several problems related to the eyes. Tearing in your pet’s eyes can mean an infection is present or may be a sign that the cornea (outer layer of the eye) has been damaged. Surgery may allow the cornea to heal faster with less scarring, improving your pet’s ability to see. In some pets, the eyelashes may actually damage the cornea. Surgical intervention improves comfort in these pets, reduces the chances of corneal scarring, and enhances the pet’s vision in the long term.

DENTISTRY

In many cases, dental disease in dogs and cats progresses to a point where teeth need to be extracted or treated with advanced dental techniques. Whole Pet South Charlotte offers comprehensive dental surgical services and provides you and your pet with the highest standard of care.

Around here, safety always comes first.

Making sure our patients remain safe during surgery and other medical procedures is extremely important to us. Our team of veterinarians and veterinary technicians is skilled in using anesthesia and monitoring patients to ensure their safety and provide the most comfortable experience. Anesthesia and patient monitoring vary greatly from clinic to clinic. You can be confident that we use the most effective and up-to-date protocols. The type of anesthesia we use depends on the procedure. Some require general anesthesia, while others may only call for local anesthesia. We also closely monitor every procedure, regardless of whether it’s routine or more advanced. For more specific information on our protocols, please see the individual descriptions or contact us with any questions.

 

GENERAL ANESTHESIA
For some procedures, your pet will need to be administered general anesthesia so that he or she will be unconscious and not feel pain. Many pet owners worry about their pets being administered general anesthesia. We can assure you that modern anesthesia is generally quite safe; to further lower any risk, we perform a physical examination and run blood work ahead of time to catch any underlying health issues. In addition, we follow a specific anesthetic protocol, including monitoring vital signs during the procedure, to ensure the safety of our patients.

We begin most general anesthetic procedures by administering a sedative to help the pet relax and decrease any anxiety and pain. We then administer an intravenous drug to provide complete anesthesia and place a breathing tube into the patient’s trachea (windpipe). To maintain the state of unconsciousness, we deliver a gas anesthetic in combination with oxygen through the breathing tube.

LOCAL ANESTHESIA
If your pet is having a minor surgical or diagnostic procedure performed, we sometimes use a local anesthetic to help control pain. For example, when we perform a biopsy (in which a small portion of tissue is surgically removed so it can be examined), we often use a local anesthetic. Local anesthetics cause a loss of sensation in the area where the procedure is being performed. We sometimes use a sedative and/or anxiolytic (anti-anxiety medication) in combination with the local anesthetic to keep pets calm during a procedure.