At Dix Hills Animal Hospital, our priority is to provide compassionate, quality medical care to pets in Huntington, NY, and surrounding areas. Our veterinarians and support staff are trained to perform surgery and keep pets safe and comfortable from the beginning to end of the procedure.
We use state-of-the-art equipment, updated medical techniques, and prioritize educating pet parents so each pet is appropriately cared for at every stage of their surgery, and during recovery. We have renovated our surgical suite to incorporate more advanced monitoring technology.
Routine Surgeries We Provide
Our veterinary team can perform a wide range of cat and dog surgical procedures, including:
Spaying & Neutering
Mass Removal
Abscess Repair
Bladder Stone Removal
Gastrotomies / Enterotomies
In some cases, pets require more advanced surgical procedures, such as orthopedic or complicated soft tissue surgeries. In these instances, our veterinarians will refer our patients to board-certified surgeon Dr. Tomas Infernuso at the Animal Surgical Center. Some of the more complicated procedures he performs for our patients include ruptured ACL repair, fracture repair, hip surgery, patellar luxation repair, as well as endoscopic and laparoscopic procedures.
Minimizing Anesthetic Risks for Our Patients
While there is always some risk associated with anesthetic procedures, our team is dedicated to making sure each pet is appropriately cared for before, during, and after undergoing general anesthesia. It is our job to ensure your pet can properly process and eliminate the anesthetic from their system. In order to minimize the risk as much as possible, we highly recommend running preoperative bloodwork on all pets undergoing surgery.
Our veterinarians will evaluate their results, interpreting if your pet’s organs are functioning properly or if they have any hidden health conditions that may put them at risk. A more comprehensive blood panel may be recommended depending on your pet’s current age and medical history.
Pre-operative testing is designed to maximize your pet’s safety and health, which is our biggest priority. Once your pet is cleared to undergo anesthesia, they will be closely monitored by our nursing staff at every stage of the surgery. Our medically-trained support staff will use the latest monitoring technology to keep an eye on your pet’s vital signs, monitor their blood pressure, and evaluate their anesthetic depth.
Monitoring will continue even after your pet awakens from the anesthesia to ensure a proper mental state and physical recovery. Each pet parent will be educated by our team on proper post-anesthetic home care to ensure a quick and easy recovery.
Pain Management
Along with your pet’s health and safety, our other main concern is their comfort. Each pet we see is evaluated on a medical-grade pain scale and categorized based on their current pain or comfort level. This evaluation is subject to change based on age, medical history, and any new injuries or health concerns.
Every one of our surgical patients receives a combination of effective pain management and anti-inflammatory medications to ease any post-operative pain. Any painful orthopedic procedures also include an epidural injection to control pain and lessen the amount of anesthetic needed. Local anesthetics and/or nerve blocks are often utilized in particular procedures if localized pain is predicted and are often used in small mass removal procedures or for dental extractions.
Your pet will be consistently monitored post-operatively to appropriately diagnose and treat their level of pain. Each patient will have a customized pain management plan developed by their veterinarian to decrease the intensity and duration of any post-operative pain. It is our goal to minimize pain and encourage a more rapid return to normal behavior, comfort, and health.
