PET SURGERY
During the toughest of times, we’ll be there. Our veterinary team offers a wide range of surgical solutions, both routine and complex, for your pet.
We can handle complex and advanced procedures.
We have a spacious dedicated surgery suite and the advanced equipment needed to perform most surgical procedures. Our doctors are proficient in many soft tissue surgeries, including spays and neuters, enterotomies and gastrostomies, cystotomies, splenectomies, gastropexies, tumor removals, and many more. Our patients have a dedicated anesthetist assigned to them throughout the entire procedure. This is a highly trained veterinary professional that monitors your pet’s heart rate, breathing rate, blood pressure, hydration, and body temperature every 5 minutes. This allows us to use the least amount of anesthesia needed to complete the procedure and enhances patient safety because excess medications are not administered. The individual attention doesn’t end once the procedure is over! After surgery, a dedicated recovery veterinary professional will stay by their side continuously until he or she is fully awake. Once they are awake, our recovery technician will text you with a special note from your pet that their procedure is complete and what time they can go home.
We can handle the routine stuff, too.
Spaying or Neutering is essential in controlling the pet population as well as reducing unwanted behaviors. Our goal is to not only spay or neuter your pet but have the process be as safe and comfortable for them as possible. We take several precautions to be sure that happens. For example, we place an IV catheter in every patient, which provides fluids before, during, and after anesthesia. Our doctors wear a sterile gown and gloves and use a sterile instrument and suture pack for each surgery. We have a dedicated surgery room that is cleaned specifically for this purpose. Each pet has their blood pressure, oxygen/CO2 level, temperature, heart rate, and rhythm (EKG) measured throughout surgery to ensure safety and ideal anesthetic depth.
Throughout the entire process of routine procedures, we focus on your pet’s physical and emotional comfort. Upon arrival, your pet’s emotional state will be evaluated. If they are anxious or scared, we will set them up with extra pampering and or anxiety medications so they can rest comfortably leading up to their procedure. We also focus on pain management by providing three different pain medications during surgery. All animals go home with post-op pain medications for their recovery. The sutures we use are buried under the skin and dissolve on their own, so they don’t have any external sutures to lick. Your pet comes into the hospital in the morning and goes home that same afternoon, and most act like they never had surgery by the following afternoon. When your pet’s procedure is complete, we will text you an update and special note from your pet about their pick up time.
Orthopedic procedures are offered at VMC of Fort Mill.
VMC offers surgical repair of many standard orthopedic procedures. VMC houses a board-certified veterinary surgeon to complete procedures to repair torn ACL ligaments, hip problems, and other joint issues. Dr. Matt Ritter will complete the procedure, and your pet will go home with you the same day and rest in the comfort of his or her home. Dr. Ritter has performed thousands of orthopedic procedures in his career. Your pet will have an attentive and experienced VMC staff member assigned to their care and surgical monitoring throughout their entire stay.
Safety Precautions
We utilize the safest available anesthetics to provide an extra margin of safety, especially for our older or high-risk patients. Your pet is monitored by a veterinarian and veterinary technician through the entire procedure until a full recovery is reached.
Monitoring includes heart rate, oxygen saturation, ECG, respiration rate, blood pressure, and temperature. All sedation/anesthesia plans are tailored to each patient and their individual needs.
What to expect when your pet comes in for surgery.
- At VMC, you and your pet are greeted by your surgical technician that will review your pet’s procedure and any health updates. The next step will be an emotional well-being evaluation. Based on their level of fear, anxiety, and stress, medications are administered to provide immediate relief and keep them relaxed and comfortable during their stay. This also allows us to use less anesthesia and therefore prioritize their emotional well-being and as well as their safety.
- The veterinarian performing the procedure will do a pre-anesthetic exam to check for strong vital signs, hydration level, and evaluate anesthesia risk based on these factors and reviewing preoperative blood work results. Then an IV catheter is placed to allow for IV fluids to be administered to help maintain blood pressure and provide better recovery. It also allows for emergency medications to be administered in the fastest way possible if needed.
- Pets are dropped off a couple of hours before the procedure to allow for all this to take place.
- You will receive a call from the surgical technician or doctor once your pet is awake and in recovery after the procedure. During this conversation, they will let you know how everything went, and communicate what time you can come and pick your pet up to take them home.
- An experienced technical staff member will stay with your pet monitoring their vital signs every 5 minutes until they are swallowing on their own, their temperature normalizes, and they are stable. This may take 20 minutes or 2 hours, depending on the pet. They will continue to be monitored and strictly observed for a few more hours before going home.
- When you come to pick your pet up, the discharge technician will go over the dismissal instructions and explain the details of the procedure. They will also go over any medications to go home, and any special instructions or things for you to watch out for. We will also call the next morning to check up on them and see how things are going at home.
We put your pet first.
When you need us, we'll be there. Use the button below to book an appointment online.
What makes us different?
Finding the right veterinary clinic for you and your pet family is a challenging task. Any veterinary website or practice will tell you the same things--they practice top quality medicine and have high standards. Well, most practices do. So what makes Veterinary Medical Center of Fort Mill different? The biggest difference is in why we do what we do and why we stand-alone among other hospitals.
What separates us from the rest? First, we are fully accredited by AAHA--indicating the best in veterinary excellence. We have 18 Fear Free Certified team members and we are a Certified Cat-Friendly Practice. Watch the First Impression video to hear our why and find out why Veterinary Medical Center of Fort Mill is such a special place.
Click a badge below to learn more about our commitment to providing the highest level of care for your pets.
We'll be there when you need us.
We are open five days per week. If you need anything, our contact information is below. We look forward to seeing you soon.
Monday - Friday: 8:00 am - 6:00 pm
Saturday - Sunday: Closed
Please note that we are closed on Wednesdays from 9:00 - 10:00 am for staff meetings.
Have a question?
Use the form below and a member of our team will get back to you as quickly as possible. If you need immediate assistance, please call us directly at 803-396-9130.