The Operating
Theatre is the engine room of a veterinary surgery. Gold
Coast Vet Surgery has a dedicated sterile operating theatre where
most surgery is performed. Contaminated procedures that involve a lot
of infection, such as abscesses or dental procedures, are performed
in our non-sterile treatment room so as to not contaminate and
compromise the theatre. Importantly the operating theatre is a
separate room that has no through flow to the rest of the hospital,
and has its own air conditioning control.
Next door is the Prep Room where patients
are initially put under anaesthetic, shaved and cleaned in preparation for
their operation. Only once the operating site has been cleaned and prepared
is the patient moved onto the theatre table.
The theatre table is hydraulically operated enabling the
height and angle etc to be specifically adjusted to suit the surgeon and
area being operated on. Special theatre lights help illuminate the area
where the surgeon is working. All patients have a tube placed into the
airway in their throat. Through this tube they receive a mixture of oxygen
and anaesthetic gas that is essentially delivered directly to their lungs.
Should a patient stop breathing, or be having chest surgery, they can also
be ventilated through this tube. Oxygen is available in theatre, and
throughout the hospital, via dedicated pipes from the central storage
tanks.
Most patients undergoing an operation are on an intravenous
drip. To ensure that they receive the correct dose of iv fluids, the drip
is operated by a special iv fluid pump. While under anaesthetic all animals
are carefully monitored by qualified veterinary nurses. To aid them with
this task, modern monitoring equipment is used to monitor the patient’s
vital signs.
At Gold Coast Vet Surgery we use the safest Gold Standard
anaesthetic combination for all operations – it is not offered just as an
optional extra. While it may cost us a bit more, the benefits in terms of
safety and a faster recovery are well worth it. We also recommend that
prior to any anaesthetic or sedation we run a panel of blood tests to
ensure that the anaesthetic is as safe as possible. These blood tests are
run in our on site laboratory so the results are immediately available.
Therefore, conveniently the tests can be run on the same day as the
operation, instead of having to visit us a few days before for a blood
test. While it would be great to do the blood tests on every patient, given
the added cost and the fact that there’s no Medicare for pets, these tests
are optional.
As part of the theatre unit, the Prep Room is also where all
the surgical instruments are cleaned, packed and sterilised in our new
high-tech vacuum autoclave.
Gold Coast Vet Surgery Theatre
Gold Coast Vet Surgery Theatre
Gold Coast Vet Surgery Theatre
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