What are soft tissue surgery procedures?
Soft tissue surgery encompasses the majority of surgical procedures that are not in the sphere of Orthopedic Surgery. In other words, these procedures include everything not related to bones, joints, muscles, or the neurologic system.
Some common soft tissue surgical procedures that we offer for companion animals include mass removal, cardiothoracic, hepatic, gastrointestinal, urogenital, skin, and oncological surgeries.
Soft Tissue Surgery Procedures At Cascade Veterinary Referral Center
Our highly skilled and experienced veterinarians will strive to make your pet's surgical procedure as comfortable and stress-free as possible.
We'll talk you through each step of the process, including preparation and proper post-operative care, and ensure that you have all the details you need to make the right choices for your pet.
List of Soft Tissue Surgeries
- Skin Surgery & Mass Removal
Wounds on the skin can be in the form of bites, cuts or lacerations, burns, or other trauma. These wounds need to be cared for as soon as possible by a veterinarian to prevent severe disease.
Cats and dogs can also develop masses associated with the skin. They 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.
- Cardiothoracic
A variety of conditions, such as cancer, trauma, or pathology, can necessitate surgery within the chest (thoracic cavity). These are typically planned, elective surgeries, but problems can arise that necessitate emergency surgery.
A fast breathing rate (even when at rest), lethargy, or not eating are all signs that your pet has cardiothoracic problems.
- Hepatic
A liver resection, also known as a hepatectomy, is a surgical procedure that removes a portion of your pet's liver. As long as the rest of the liver is healthy, they can have up to two-thirds of your liver removed. A smaller portion may be removed if they have liver disease.
- Gastrointestinal
Abdominal or gastrointestinal surgery frequently focuses on conditions affecting the spleen, liver, pancreas, adrenal glands, other internal organs, and body wall hernias.
- Urogenital
Urogenital surgery is any surgery performed on the urinary tract (most commonly, the urinary bladder or urethra) or the reproductive organs (penis, testicles, vagina, ovaries, and uterus).
- Oncological
Surgical oncology is the removal of cancerous tissue via surgery. These can include but are not limited to various skin tumors and cancers of the head and neck, including complex mouth surgeries
Veterinary Soft Tissue Surgery FAQs
- What happens during the consultation appointment?
During the pre-operative consultation, we will review your pet’s medical history and perform a physical examination, appropriate blood work, and any other diagnostic tests that are needed to determine the nature of your pet's condition.
Diagnostic testing may include radiographs (x-rays), CT scans, ultrasounds, and biopsies. Once the results are back, a surgery plan is made and discussed with you.
- Do the consultation appointment and surgery happen on the same day?
No. The consultation appointment is a pre-operative exam that your animal must undergo prior to surgery. Once any diagnostic test results have come back from our lab, a surgery appointment can be scheduled.
- How long does the surgery take?
Surgeries usually last between two to four hours. The duration depends on the type of surgery being performed and on your pet’s specific condition.
- Does my pet have to stay overnight?
Many of our patients need to stay in the hospital overnight after surgery so that we can monitor them as they recover from the procedure. Depending on the type of surgery that is performed and how quickly they recover after anesthesia and surgery, your pet may be able to go home on the same day.
- What is Post-Op Recovery Like?
Soft tissue surgeries are usually almost completely healed by the two or three-week mark, but it will most likely take six weeks for your pet to recover completely.
Following your pet's surgical procedure, your veterinarian will give you detailed instructions on how to care for your four-legged family member at home. You must follow these instructions exactly. You should also seek clarification if there are any steps that you do not fully understand
After their operation, try and provide a comfortable and quiet environment for your pet to rest. Keep them out of the way of children, other pets, and household chores.