What health condition and tests are needed before spaying my pet?

Thanks for reaching out. Serum biochemistries would be a good idea also, to test liver and kidney functions, prior to surgery. Another good idea might be radiographs, to look for uterine cancer. Good luck.

If heartworm is a problem in your area, which is may be considering the mosquitos that carry it have been found in your country according to the paper I gave you earlier, she should be protected against it regardless if she is showing signs or not. A dog can have heartworm without showing signs, and the only way to know for sure if to have a blood test done on her. Even if it's negative, you can't prevent mosquitos from biting her, so she should be protected against it. Heartworm is fatal without treatment, and it can still be fatal even with treatment if the infection is severe enough. I'm glad to hear Bella may be getting spayed this spring! I remember from earlier questions you were debating having it done. Before getting spayed, you can have routine blood tests and a urinalysis done on her. That tells the vet who her organs are functioning, and gives an anesthetic risk assessment for the surgery. An anesthetic risk assessment lets the vet know how she will likely handle bein

Great question, The only way to ensure the safety of performing a routine spay operation is to have your small animal veterinarian perform a pre-surgical exam along with pre-anesthetic blood testing. After the exam and blood, if anything looks abnormal, further testing such as X-rays and ultrasound can be done prior to surgery. Keep in mind, veterinary clinics vary as to their equipment, so, to insure your pets safety, its alway good to have your cat monitored on an EKG/Blood pressure monitor. Nutrition is important, feeding a good quality adult diet either recommended by your local veterinarian or purchased through Petco or feed store should be adequate. The important things is that it agrees with your cat over time such as providing normal stools and volume, maintains nice haricot, and maintains normal weight. Changes in diet should always be done slowly. Please feel free to set a consult with me if you have further questions regarding her upcoming surgery. Thank you, Steve P

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Penelope. It is good that her ultrasound came back normal. I typically recommend blood work such as a bile acids panel (liver function test) and even a coagulation panel prior to surgery in the case of elevated liver values. These blood panels will help to ensure that it is safe for her to go under anesthesia. I hope this information helps!

Based on the bloodwork, there does not appear to be any signs of infection such as a pyometra. I DO recommend the spay, however, as it will prevent it in the future. If you do not plan on breeding her, this will help to keep her healthier throughout her life. If she is sick, however, now is not the time. I would be interested to know what her symptoms are, and if a chemistry was done with her blood to evaluate her organ function. If you would like to set up a consult we can go over this more in depth.

Spaying your dog will contribute to her living longer and having a healthier life by eliminating the surge of hormones from when she goes into season that can lead to a uterine infection that can be life threatening, not to mention the additional stresses the hormones and the anxiety of being in season can have on a dog. Bloodwork is a good idea, to get an idea of how her organ systems are functioning and how well she will tolerate the anesthesia. Getting both procedures done at one time will eliminate the need for more than one anesthesia event, so that itself lowers her risk. Ask you vet if they are willing to work with you on getting the bloodwork done, either by running just liver and kidney function testing or if there is a discount for doing all of the work at one time.

In-house blood work is very expensive as we have to buy very expensive laboratory equipment, ie little diagnostic plates or rotors that can only be used once. So using in house labs is only useful when we need results right away. As your dog's surgery is next week there is enough time to send out the blood and receive a result in time for the surgery, and so have a less expensive way of doing bloodwork. Presurgical bloodwork is usually done in older animals as they could have some health conditions that make an anesthesia or surgery itself risky. By taking presurgical bloodwork we can evaluate liver and kidney function and other imbalances or problems with vital organs. It protects your dog as we can tailor the anesthesia to your dog.

Just as in people, anesthetic procedures are not without risk. However, if she is deemed healthy and will be adequately monitored during the procedure, the risk is minimized. She should have a full blood panel performed beforehand to make sure she is healthy to undergo the procedure. Your vet should also do a good physical exam to ensure she does not have a heart murmur or other health concerns. Wishing you both the best!

Hello. Spaying is a very good idea, but in all probability, the nodules on the liver will not be touched. Those liver values are a concern, and I would possibly look more into what is going on with the liver before putting Dahlia under general anesthesia. I assume an ultrasound of her abdomen was done & this is how the cyst & nodules were found. Have chest x-rays been done? In case the liver nodules are cancerous, we want to make sure her lungs are clear of any metastatic lesions. Also, if the cyst on her ovary is not bothering her & she is not having any reproductive problems, spaying her may not be advised either until your veterinarian can get her liver numbers down. We do have supplements that may help the liver to heal. Follow your veterinarian's recommendations for any follow up testing & treatments. Good luck & thanks for contacting Boop by Petco.

Hi, Low protein levels can be of concern for surgery. Proteins are large molecules that help regulate the concentration of everything else in the blood. If the protein is low it can throw everything else out of balance and it is definitely safest to do surgery when these levels are normal. Low protein can also be caused by a number of systemic issues so I would agree spaying when these levels are normal is the best for Aurora to make sure she has a safe and happy spay! Hope this helps! -Dr. Gordon