{"id":6539,"date":"2021-12-15T17:26:47","date_gmt":"2021-12-15T17:26:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aercmn.com\/?p=6539"},"modified":"2021-12-15T17:26:47","modified_gmt":"2021-12-15T17:26:47","slug":"five-most-common-pet-surgeries-at-aerc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aercmn.com\/blog\/five-most-common-pet-surgeries-at-aerc\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Most Common Pet Surgeries at AERC"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"surgery<\/p>\n

Every\u00a0<\/span>day<\/span>, our Surgery Service<\/a> performs a variety of pet surgeries! From scheduled procedures to emergency situations, our patients keep us on our toes!\u00a0<\/span>Understandably so, many of our clients are curious to know which surgeries we do the most and why these procedures are needed by our pets. So, we decided to share the list of Animal Emergency & Referral Center of Minnesota\u2019s five most common surgeries!<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"TPLO,<\/p>\n

1. ACL Surgery<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

One of the most common orthopedic injuries we see in dogs is rupture of the cranial cruciate ligament (CCL or ACL) in the knee. This leads to lameness, instability, and progressive arthritis. The procedure we do most often at AERC to address this injury is a\u00a0Tibial\u00a0Plateau Leveling Osteotomy (TPLO), which involves making a curved cut in the tibia, rotating the bone, and stabilizing it with a plate and screws. This changes the biomechanics of the knee and\u00a0eliminates\u00a0instability.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Dogs stay one night after surgery and require 8-12 weeks of activity restriction. Most dogs do great with this procedure and are back to running and playing several months after surgery!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"tumor,<\/p>\n

2. Oncologic Surgery <\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

This is a broad category, but removal of tumors from all over the body makes up a large portion of our surgeries. We frequently perform removal of tumors associated with the lungs, liver, thyroid and parathyroid glands, skin, spleen, anal sac gland, and more!\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With these cases, we work closely with\u00a0our\u00a0<\/span>Oncology Service<\/span><\/a>\u00a0before and after surgery to help identify if the\u00a0cancer has spread. Some masses are benign,\u00a0and surgery can be curative. Other masses are malignant, meaning they\u00a0are likely to\u00a0spread elsewhere\u00a0(metastasis),\u00a0and\u00a0we recommend\u00a0follow-up\u00a0for\u00a0<\/span>chemotherapy<\/span><\/a>\u00a0through\u00a0our Oncology Service.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"cat,<\/p>\n

3. Perineal\u00a0<\/span>Urethrostomy<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

Male cats can be predisposed to\u00a0<\/span>feline lower urinary tract disease<\/span><\/a>\u00a0(FLUTD). These cases are usually managed with diet and environmental modifications. However; in cases where there are repeat incidents of urinary obstruction despite medical management, we perform a procedure known as a perineal\u00a0urethrostomy\u00a0(PU) surgery. This involves widening the opening of the urethra so that a life-threatening obstruction is less likely to occur.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For 2-3 weeks after surgery, cats require special litter and MUST wear an E-collar while the surgery site heals.\u00a0 Long-term management remains necessary to prevent inflammation.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"foreign<\/p>\n

4. GI Foreign Body Surgery<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

Emergency surgeries make up a large percentage of cases performed by\u00a0our\u00a0Surgery Service, and the most common emergency surgery is the removal of gastrointestinal foreign bodies. It is amazing what dogs and cats will eat! We have removed tennis balls, pacifiers, string, socks, rocks, corn cobs \u2013 you name it! To\u00a0remove these\u00a0items,\u00a0\u00a0we\u00a0usually\u00a0make an incision in either the stomach\u00a0(known as a\u00a0gastrotomy)\u00a0or small intestines\u00a0(known as an\u00a0enterotomy)\u00a0over the foreign body. If the bowel appears unhealthy or perforated, then it\u2019s necessary to remove the abnormal bowel loop (known as a resection and anastomosis).\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

These GI surgery cases usually require the patient to stay 1-2 days in-hospital, pending their appetite and comfort level post-surgery.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"fracture<\/p>\n

5. Fracture Repair<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

We often see dogs and cats with broken bones, especially in the warmer months.\u00a0Fractures can occur at any age and happen after trauma such as being hit by a car or landing awkwardly while playing or jumping.\u00a0\u00a0The most common repair is with a plate and screws. How the fracture is repaired depends\u00a0on where it is (what bone and what part of the bone) and in how many pieces.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Surgery recovery usually requires 8-12 weeks of activity restriction. Recheck x-rays are performed between 4-8 weeks post-surgery to evaluate healing before allowing the pet to return to normal activity.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"surgery,<\/p>\n

There you have it! Those are the five most common surgeries at Animal Emergency & Referral Center of Minnesota!\u00a0We hope you are reviewing this list for curiosity\u2019s sake, but if your pet\u00a0does need\u00a0one of these surgeries \u2013 or any type of surgery \u2013 we recommend reading\u00a0our\u00a0<\/span>general post-operative care tips<\/span><\/a>!\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Learn more about our Surgery Service\u00a0<\/span><\/i>here<\/span><\/i><\/a>.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Katherine<\/p>\n

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