Veterinary Surgery

The Surgery Process

During each surgery, a dedicated veterinary technician will administer anesthesia and continuously monitor your pet using electronic patient monitoring equipment. 

After the surgery is complete our focus shifts to post-operative monitoring and pain management. Your veterinarian will provide you with thorough at-home care instructions.

If your pet needs a surgical procedure we do not offer, we will refer you to a veterinary surgeon near Mankato and work with them to ensure your pet receives the best care. 

Surgical Procedures

At River Hills Pet Care Hospital, we perform medical and emergency surgeries to help treat disease and conditions in pets or to repair injuries sustained through trauma.

Our Mankato vets routinely perform the following elective and non-elective surgeries:

• Soft Tissue Surgery

  For pets suffering from ear, nose, and throat disorders, we offer soft tissue surgical procedures.

  These procedures are also available for hepatic, urogenital, oncological, cardiothoracic, gastrointestinal, and skin disorders. 

• Spaying & Neutering

  When we spay or neuter a cat or dog, we surgically sterilize them to prevent disease and provide them with an extended life expectancy. 

• Mass Removal

  Cats and dogs can develop masses associated with the skin. Masses can also grow inside a body cavity and can be serious or life-threatening.

  Mass removal surgery is a fairly common procedure for both cats and dogs.

• Foreign Body

  Sometimes, foreign objects are ingested or can get stuck inside a cat's or dog's body.

  Whether your pet has eaten an object they shouldn't have or an accident has left them injured, we can perform foreign body surgery to remove it.

  In some cases, specialized skills or equipment are needed to perform pet surgery. If that is the case for your animal, your vet will refer you to a cat or dog surgeon near Mankato and work closely with your veterinary surgeon to ensure that your dog or cat receives the very best care.

• Wounds

  Wounds occur when living tissue has been cut, broken, burnt, torn, or otherwise damaged.

  It's imperative that these wounds be cleaned, disinfected, and appropriately cared for by a qualified veterinarian as soon as possible. 

• Orthopedic Surgery

  Orthopedic surgeries correct injuries and diseases of the bones, ligaments, joints, tendons, and other skeletal structures in your pet.

  If your dog or cat is suffering from a condition or injury that requires orthopedic surgery, we have an on-call veterinary surgeon that specializes in orthopedic procedures. Board-certified veterinarians are experts in their field – they must complete an additional three years of school and pass rigorous examinations to receive their certification.  

• Dental Surgery

  Our veterinarians provide dental surgeries for dogs and cats. These surgeries can range from tooth extractions to gum disease treatment and jaw fracture repairs.

Surgical protocols at our clinic include:

Pre-surgical assessments. We will confirm the specifics of the procedure, complete a physical examination of the patient, and make sure blood tests have been completed and reviewed by the vet in order to determine if your pet faces any risk of anesthesia-related complications.

Dedicated surgical suites. Surgeries are performed in a dedicated surgical suite. This room is kept completely sterile to prevent infection and cross-contamination.

Surgical attire. Our staff wears disposable caps and masks at all times when they are in the surgical suite. Those involved in the procedure itself will also wear sterile gowns and single-use gloves.

Sterile packs and equipment. We carefully clean, sterilize and wrap our surgical instruments and equipment prior to every surgery.