Surgical Services

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 under Anesthesia and Patient Monitoring for more information on what we do to keep your pet safe.

To set up an appointment to have your pet spayed or to learn more about this procedure, call or visit our clinic. If you are struggling with the decision of whether to spay your pet, please call us so we can discuss your concerns.

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 behaviour, 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 under Anesthesia and Patient Monitoring for more information on what we do to keep your pet safe.

To set up an appointment to have your pet neutered or to learn more about this procedure, please call or visit our clinic. If you are struggling with the decision of whether to neuter your pet, please call us so we can discuss your concerns.

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 (nonharmful); 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.

Surgery can also help resolve several problems related to the eyes. Tearing in your pet’s eyes can mean an infection is present or it 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.

Please contact us if you’d like to discuss how soft tissue surgery might be able to help your pet.

In addition to regular surgeries, we offer selected orthopedic procedures including cruciate repair and femoral head ostectomy. Dr. Hutchinson has taken advanced training with respect to these procedures and has been performing them for almost fifteen years.

The cranial cruciate ligament is one of the most important stabilizers inside the knee. Rupture of this ligament is one of the most common reasons for dogs and cats to present with hindlimb lameness, pain and subsequent arthritis. Cruciate tears can occur from trauma but are usually due to a combination of factors including ageing of the ligament, obesity, poor physical condition, conformation, and breed. After tests are performed (usually a physical examination and sedated radiographs) to confirm the diagnosis, various repair techniques will be discussed. Dr. Hutchinson performs an extracapsular repair technique. This technique is not suitable for all cases, and if needed, other techniques are available through referral to another surgeon, or by having a travelling surgeon come into our practice.

Femoral Head ostectomy (FHO) in dogs and cats is a surgical procedure that involves removing the head and neck of the femur, the large bone in the hip joint. FHO is required to fix some congenital issues, to deal with trauma to the hip joint, and aid in the management of some severe arthritis cases.

Post-operative physiotherapy and cold laser therapy are important components of the recovery process and are implemented by the staff starting just a few hours after the surgery. Home care instructions will be provided at the time of discharge to aid in your pet’s speedy recovery.