Veterinary Surgery In St. Peters, MO

At our vet office, we understand how vital your pet’s ability to move and enjoy life is, which is why specialized ACL/CCL veterinary surgery is among the top services provided. This veterinary surgery procedure fixes torn ligaments in the knee—a frequent issue for pets that leads to pain and difficulty walking.

Our experienced surgeons work meticulously to mend your pet’s leg, giving it back its strength so it can once again leap and play with joy.

The cranial cruciate ligament (CCL), also known as anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in humans, is found in the knee. When this ligament is torn, an abnormal shearing force occurs causing pain and arthritis over time. The lateral suture surgical technique places a false ligament on the outside of the joint to stabilize the knee allowing return of function and slowing the progression of arthritis. Pets must have strict rest post-op to allow scar tissue to form. Crate rest is the only way to ensure pets will lie still and rest.

A crate is required, and the pet must stay in the crate, other than to go to the bathroom, for the first 2 weeks. It is up to you to keep your pet calm and under control. It is the pushing off / accelerating forward/ jumping motion that can cause your pet to damage the repair. Even after the crate rest period, no exercise should be allowed for 6 weeks. Pets must stay on a short leash when outside and under control at all times to prevent above mentioned movements. Crate rest should be used for a longer period if your pet will not behave calmly out of the crate after the first 2 weeks.

Pets are part of the family, and we know that the thought of them needing surgery, especially amputations, can be tough. Our dedicated crew makes sure to deliver top-level care during leg, tail, or toe amputations so our four-legged patients can bounce back better than ever.

No matter if it’s an injury or disease that brings them in, we’re committed to offering a careful and kind surgical experience.

The most common reasons for amputations include growths, trauma, and dislocation. Pets are not vain and do not care how they look as long as they continue to receive love. Pets do very well with only 3 legs.

The most common reasons for tail amputations include growths, trauma, and malformations.

The most common reasons for toe amputations include growths and trauma.

Understanding the difficulties that orthopedic problems present for pets is at the core of our clinic’s mission. Our experienced veterinarians carry out orthopedic surgeries with meticulous attention and compassion, focusing on resolving issues with your pet’s bones, joints, and muscles effectively.

They tackle fractures, hip dysplasia, and other bone-related conditions that need surgical intervention to enhance mobility and improve your pet’s overall well-being.

Animals have 3 eyelids. The same two lids (upper and lower) that we have, and a third that crosses from the nose side. This third eyelid contains a gland that produces tears to keep the eye moist. When this gland becomes inflamed, it swells and has the appearance of a cherry sitting in the corner of the eye. The inflammation is usually caused by infection or irritation from hair, dust, etc.

It is important to keep the hair trimmed around the eyes to help decrease irritation. To remove a cherry eye, we remove a portion of the gland so that enough gland is preserved to still make tears but not enough to swell outside of the pocket it normally resides in. It is extremely rare for dry eye to occur after a cherry eye repair, but if it occurs, moisturizing drops will be needed long term.

Cherry eye removal is a common surgery to fix prolapsed gland of the third eyelid in dogs. Veterinarians carefully reposition and secure the affected gland during the procedure to improve eye health and reduce discomfort for pets.

Our experienced staff use advanced techniques and modern equipment to perform this delicate procedure with precision, ensuring the best possible outcome for your furry friend.

A dental cleaning visit will include a thorough dental examination, teeth cleaning, and polishing to remove the tartar and periodontal disease-causing plaque. This is done while your dog is under general anesthesia. Once anesthetized, your veterinarian with the help of veterinary assistants will thoroughly examine the mouth, noting abnormalities in the medical record. A dental probe will be used to evaluate gum bleeding and periodontal pockets where food can accumulate and decay if not properly cared for.When periodontal disease is advanced, it may not be possible to save the badly affected teeth, which may need to be extracted either during the procedure or at a later time.

Dewclaws are residual thumbs. The dewclaw nails do not make contact with the ground and tend to grow around and back into the paw if they are not kept trimmed. They can be found on either the front or rear paws, attached by bone or loosely hanging. Not all dogs have dewclaws. They are most often removed due to nail entrapment, infection, or if owners are unable to keep the nails trimmed.

The extra toes on a dog’s inner paw and can present injury risks if not looked after. Removing these unnecessary appendages can prevent painful injuries or infections.

Entropion is a rolling in of the eyelids leading the lashes to rub on the eyeball. This can cause minor irritation up to severe corneal ulcerations. The number of affected lids depends on your pet’s anatomy. A minor nip-tuck of the eyelid will allow the lid to unroll and relieve the irritation to the eye.

It is best to slightly overcorrect the lid so that any future irritation will not allow the lid to roll back in. You may see a bit of pink in your pet’s eye once the lids are corrected. This is simply the conjunctiva around your pet’s eye. Sometimes visibility of the pink area will subside as the swelling goes down, other times you may continue to see the pink area. This is cosmetic only and will not negatively affect your pet.

Entropion correction involves surgically addressing the inward rolling of a pet’s eyelids. Experienced veterinary surgeons use advanced techniques to reposition the eyelids, alleviating discomfort and preventing potential eye damage.

This corrective procedure is crucial for improving your pet’s quality of life and maintaining their ocular health. With high-quality care and state-of-the-art facilities, we ensure that your pet receives comprehensive pre-surgical assessment, top-notch surgical intervention, and attentive post-operative care.

Growths can appear anywhere on your pet’s body and can grow from many different cell types. Some are slow growing and some can grow quite quickly. Either way, any abnormal lump or bump should be checked by your veterinarian. A needle biopsy (a very small sample taken with a needle) can help determine the type of growth and if removal is indicated.

If a larger sample is needed, or you simply want the growth removed, we can remove the growth and send the entire piece of tissue to the lab to review. If the cell type is unknown prior to surgery or if the growth is suspicious for cancer, we will make every effort to achieve clean margins of skin around the growth. Therefore the incision will appear larger than the actual growth was.

There are some areas of the body where the skin will not allow for clean margins and only a debulking of the mass can be achieved. Drainage tubes and bandages may be used post- op depending on the location and size of the growth. Instructions for care will be sent home with you. Please keep in mind that growth removal pricing is based on the size of the incision necessary to remove the growth and hopefully achieve “clean margins,” not on the size of the growth itself. There are some areas of the body where the skin will not allow for clean margins and only a debulking of the mass can be achieved.

If the growth was deemed benign prior to surgery, removing this extra margin of skin will not be necessary. If your veterinarian has not determined this, we will attempt to achieve “clean margins” meaning we will attempt to get as much as the mass off with as much visually healthy tissue as possible so if it is something scary like cancer, we get as much of it as possible.

Our experienced veterinary surgeons identify and safely remove various types of growths to ensure your pet’s well-being. Whether it’s a benign cyst or a potentially problematic tumor, we offer comprehensive pre-surgical assessment and monitoring to tailor the best approach for your pet’s specific needs.