Veterinary Surgery Services Tigard

Veterinary Surgical Procedures

At Cascade Veterinary Referral Center, we perform medical and emergency surgeries to help treat disease and conditions in pets or to repair injuries sustained through trauma. Our Tigard vet surgeon specialist and veterinary team regularly perform the following surgeries:

• Anorectal Surgery

  Anorectal surgery includes the removal of the anal glands for the treatment of chronic infection, impaction, or tumors. It also covers surgeries that remove rectal polyps and tumors. 

• Brachycephalic Syndrome

  Brachycephalic syndrome encompasses an array of anatomical abnormalities that may require correction in order to improve a dog’s airway and decrease respiratory distress.

  These abnormalities, which primarily affect short-nosed and flat-faced breeds, include elongated soft palate, stenotic nares (too-narrow nostril openings), underdeveloped trachea, and abnormal tonsils, larynx, or vocal cords. 

• Cardiothoracic

  Cardiothoracic surgery is the surgical treatment of organs inside the thoracic cavity — like the lungs and heart. Some cardiothoracic surgeries we perform are: 

  •Congenital Heart Defects (PDA correction)
  •Pericardial Disease (pericardiectomy/ pericardial window)
  •Heartbase Tumors
  •Diaphragmatic Hernia repair
  •Lung Tumor/Abscess
  •Mediastinal Tumors
  •Chylothorax
  •Spontaneous Pneumothorax

• Fracture Repairs

  Numerous types of fractures occur in cats and dogs. If the fracture is unable to heal with a splint and surgical intervention is required. When a fracture is surgically repaired the bones will be correctly aligned and then stabilized pins or a plate while it heals. 

  A splint or soft compression bandage may be placed over the limb for extra support during healing. Strict confinement during this time is crucial to the healing process, as the surgical repair can only do so much to protect the fracture.

• Gastrointestinal

  Gastrointestinal surgery involves surgical procedures on the parts of the body involved in digestion, including:

  •Biopsy
  •Bowel Resection
  •Foreign Body Removal/Obstruction
  •Feline Megacolon (subtotal colectomy)

• Head & Neck

  •Ear Disease (total ear canal ablation, lateral ear resection, bulla osteotomy)
  •Salivary Mucocele/Cyst excision
  •Oral/Facial Tumors

• Hepatobiliary

  Hepatobiliary Surgery is surgery that treats the Liver, bile duct, and pancreas, including:

  •Gallbladder Mucocele
  •Bile Duct disease/biliary diversion
  •Liver biopsy/liver mass excision
  •Portosystemic Shunt (liver shunt) correction

• Hernia Repair

  A hernia is the protrusion of an organ or the fascia of an organ through the wall of the cavity that normally contains it. Fascia is the soft connective tissue just below the skin that wraps and connects muscles, bones, nerves, and blood vessels. Common hernias include umbilical and inguinal, involving the abdominal wall.

  Hernia repair is ideally performed early while they are small to prevent large defects from occurring that can make repair more difficult and recurrence more likely. Typically, local host tissue is used to reconstruct or close the defect. Sometimes a hernia is too large to close without using a mesh material to cover and aid in closing local tissues.

• Mass Removal

  Many types of tumors can be surgically excised, either through debulking in preparation for chemotherapy or radiation or as a means to improve comfort if follow-up treatment will not be pursued.

• Orthopedic Surgery

  Orthopedic surgeries correct injuries and diseases of the bones, ligaments, joints, tendons, and other skeletal structures in your pet. Some common orthopedic surgery performed at Cascade Veterinary Referral Center are:

  •Fracture/Luxation (dislocation) Repair
  •Plate Fixation
  •External Skeletal Fixation/Circular ExFix
  •Intramedullary pinning/cerclage wire
  •Toggle-rod Fixation for hip luxation
  •Cruciate Ligament Injury/Disease
  •Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy (TPLO)
  •Lateral Fabellar Suture
  •Fibular Head Transposition
  •Juvenile Orthopedic Diseases
  •Medial Patellar Luxation Correction (including prosthetic patellar groove replacement)
  •Elbow Dysplasia (fragmented coronoid excision, ununited anconeal process, proximal abducting ulnar osteotomy, sliding humeral osteotomy)
  •Limb Growth Deformities (corrective osteotomies)
  •OCD (shoulder, elbow, knee, ankle)
  •Hip Dysplasia (triple/double pelvic osteotomy, juvenile pubic symphysiodesis, femoral head/neck ostectomy

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• Skin

  •Traumatic Wound Reconstruction (skin flaps/grafts)
  •Reconstructive closure of defects from large tumor removal
  •Lip fold, nasal fold, vulvar fold resection

• Soft Tissue Surgery

  Many of the surgeries on this list fall under the category of soft tissue surgery. Soft tissue surgery refers to any surgery that is not related to bones, joints, muscles, or the neurologic system. 

  Examples of soft tissue surgery include procedures involving internal organs, the body wall, masses or tumors, and hernias. 

  Learn More 

• Thoracotomy

  Lung lobe and heart base masses are particularly difficult to access and remove. When any type of chest mass has been identified on radiographs, a CT (cat) scan is recommended to define the tumor’s extent for surgical planning. If a heart base mass is present, it often causes pericardial effusion (fluid buildup in the sac surrounding the heart).

  Unfortunately, heart base masses generally cannot be excised, but a window can be made (pericardiectomy) in the pericardium (the sac surrounding the heart) to prevent further fluid buildup around the heart and lessen the strain on the heart’s everyday function

• Upper Airwayrinary

  •Laryngeal Paralysis
  •Brachycephalic (“bulldog”) Airway Correction
  •Larygeal Collapse

• Urinary/Urogenital/Reproductive

  •Stone removal (bladder/urethra/ureter/kidney)
  •Perineal Urethrostomy (cats)
  •Scrotal Urethrostomy (dogs)
  •Subpubic Urethrostomy (dog or cat)
  •Prostatic Abscess drainage
  •Urinary Diversion (cystostomy tube)
  •Uterine/Vaginal Tumors.

The Pet Surgery Process

Your vet will provide you with detailed instructions on how to prepare your pet for surgery so you feel confident and ready when surgery day arrives. 

During each surgery, a dedicated nurse will administer anesthesia and continuously monitor your pet using electronic patient monitoring equipment. Pain management will also be provided. 

Many of the surgeries we offer can be conducted by surgical lasers as opposed to steel surgical scalpels. The benefits for your pet of using surgical lasers are decreased pain, decreased bleeding, improved tissue healing, and decreased inflammation

Following your pet's surgery, post-operative monitoring, and pain management are our priorities.

Post-operative monitoring and pain management are our priorities following surgery. Your vet will also provide thorough instructions for at-home care.

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 wear 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.