VSEC Animal Surgery Experience & Expertise
VSEC provides surgical care of the highest standard with experienced and compassionate board-certified surgery specialists who are trained in and accustomed to utilizing the most progressive techniques.
If you and your pet have been referred for a surgical consultation, it is because your primary care veterinarian believes your pet can benefit from the additional training and expertise of a board-certified surgeon.
Based on your pet’s problems, our surgical specialists in Thousand Oaks will perform a thorough examination and will present you with the most appropriate treatment option and assist you in selecting the right course of action for your pet.
Our Board-Certified Veterinary Surgeons in Thousand Oaks
A veterinary surgeon has undergone four years of additional training after veterinary school to become a certified specialist. This training consists of a one-year internship followed by a rigorous three-year residency program that meets guidelines established by the American College of Veterinary Surgeons (ACVS).
What to Expect with Veterinary Surgery at VSEC
At VSEC, our state-of-the-art surgical suites (built in 2012), are equipped with cutting-edge surgical instrumentation and diagnostic equipment. Everything we do, every decision we make, is designed to ensure post-operative success for your pet.
- Anesthesia & Pain Management
Each patient has an anesthetic plan that is tailored to their condition. Overall cardiovascular health and lab work are taken into consideration with each pet.
We take extra care to ensure your pet is pain-free during and after surgery. Often, this is done by using a multimodal approach (i.e. local anesthetic, epidural anesthesia, and systemic medications).
- Continuous Patient Monitoring
We use state-of-the-art monitoring equipment (EKG, oscillometric blood pressure, arterial line, pulse oximetry, end-tidal CO2, etc.) to monitor your pet’s vitals during surgery.
- Sterilization Techniques
All of our procedures utilize a strict sterile technique. This means our operative suite has positive pressure airflow and the room is cleaned after every procedure.
Our surgeons also use sterile prep and full surgical attire (sterile gloves, surgical cap, surgical gown).
- Surgical Lasers
In laser surgery, a highly focused laser beam can efficiently vaporize living tissue with extreme precision while sealing capillaries, small blood vessels, lymphatics, and nerve endings.
Our veterinary surgeons use surgical lasers which offer significant benefits to patients including reduced pain, bleeding, swelling, and faster recovery.
- Post-Operative Care
Post-operative support includes cage-side oxygen delivery for every patient and access to hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
Every patient will receive a customized pain management protocol for maximum comfort and expediting healing.
Once the surgery is complete, your veterinarian will contact you to discuss the procedure and plan.
Some pets can return home the next day while others are required to stay longer. It ultimately depends on the complexity of the procedure and your pet’s health status.
When you arrive to pick up your pet, we will provide you with discharge instructions and answer any questions you have.
Common Surgical Procedures
At VSEC, our surgeons have performed hundreds of orthopedic, soft tissue, oncologic, minimally invasive, and neurologic surgeries and have the confidence, skill, and instrumentation to treat nearly any condition.
- Orthopedic - fracture reduction & repair
- Bone plating
- External fixation
- Intramedullary interlocking nails & pinning
- Orthopedic - knee/stifle problems & procedures
- Bone tumors – biopsy, removal, or amputation
- Cruciate ligament repairs
- Elbow abnormalities
- Hip abnormalities
- Luxating patella
- Soft tissue - abdominal surgery
- Gastrointestinal biopsy, disease, or obstruction repair
- Hemorrhage (bleeding) control
- Liver biopsy, mass & gall bladder surgery
- Mass biopsy and removal
- Soft tissue - urinary and reproductive tract
- Ectopic ureters
- Tumor biopsy & removal
- Uroliths (stone removal)
- Soft tissue - endocrine
- Thyroid, parathyroid, adrenal and reproductive tumor resection
- Soft tissue - chest (cardio/thoracic) surgery
- Lung and heart surgery
- Soft tissue - oncologic surgery
- Biopsy and surgical removal of masses, tumors, and cysts
- Minimally invasive procedures
- Arthroscopy
- Laparoscopy
- Thoracoscopy
- Neurologic - spinal surgery
- Caudal cervical myelopathy (‘Wobblers’ syndrome)
- Intervertebral disc disease
- Fracture reduction and stabilization
- Spinal tumors