Minor & Major General Surgeries For Pets
If you have your pet booked in for any of the following surgery or procedure: spay, castration, dental scale and polish, stitch up, lump removal, radiographs or formal abdominal/thoracic under sedation, orthopaedic surgery or general surgery, please read the following very carefully. If you have additional questions further to the below, please contact one of our friendly nurses on 08 6365 6490.
Fasting
All pets (dogs and cats) excluding rabbits and exotic pets, must fast from 10.00pm the night before the surgery or procedure if they will be under sedation and/or general anaesthetic. They should have full access to water up until the morning of surgery. For rabbits and exotic pets, they do not need to fast before surgery. In fact, fasting can interfere with the proper function of their gastrointestinal tracts and may delay recovery from surgery. Please ensure you provide the normal diet and water for your rabbit up to the time they are brought in for their surgery or procedure. For more information regarding fasting rabbits or exotic pets, we encourage you to contact our friendly nurses on 08 6365 6490.
Admissions Times
All pets undergoing surgery or procedure with us at SAI must be admitted between 8.30am to 9.00am the morning of the surgery or procedure. The triage nurse on duty will go through a surgery consent form or hospital admission form with you and explain the hospitalisation process in more detail. They will also go through a set of pre-screening questions prior to admission. We will also confirm we have all your correct contact details on file. This process may take up to ten-minutes.
Financial Deposit
Due to hospital policy, all owners must pay an upfront 50% deposit of the estimated cost upon admission. This can be done via EFTPOS transaction, cash, ZipPay or Vetpay. Please note that we do not offer any in-hospital payment plans. All payment plan providers are only offered via external companies. Full payment must be paid for in full upon discharge.
Pet Insurance
If you have pet insurance, please inform our reception and triage staff on admission so we can provide you with the information required for your claim to be processed. Please note that you must initiate the claim first and then we can submit all relevant patient clinical history directly and invoices to your insurance provider via email on your behalf. Unfortunately due to hospital policy, we are unable to provide patients’ clinical history and notes directly to owners.
Payment
Payment is required in full on the discharge of your pet from SAI Veterinary Hospital. We accept many forms of payment including cash, EFTPOS and credit card, including American Express. Please note that we also accept ZipPay and Vetpay. We strictly do not offer any accounts or in-hospital payment plans.
Discharge Times
Unfortunately we cannot provide the exact time of discharge at the admission stage as this depends on how your pet recovers from their surgery or procedure. For most routine general practice surgeries or procedures (excluding major surgeries), they will be discharged late afternoon, sometimes early evening, pending recovery and surgery and/or procedure plans. However, due to being a multi-purpose small animal general practice and emergency hospital, walk-in and critical patients may delay this process.
Surgery Aftercare
At SAI Veterinary Hospital, post-surgery, we may send your pet home wearing an elizabethan collar, also known as the “cone of shame”, and we may be sending your pet home with medications. One of our veterinary surgeons or registered veterinary nurses will go through full discharge with you, this will include a take-home discharge summary. The discharge summary will include your pet’s exact surgery or procedure, what exactly was involved, surgery after-care at home, a list of post-operative medications (including dosages and frequency of administration), the “do’s” and “dont’s” at home as well as any recommended re-check consultations and/or suture removals (if applicable). It is crucial to follow the discharge instructions after your pet is discharged from our hospital. Please remember if you have any questions or concerns (minor or significant), simply call our friendly reception and triage team on 08 6365 6490.
Questions?
Do you have any questions about the above? If so, feel free to contact one of our friendly nurses from the reception and triage team on 08 6365 6490 or via email at reception@saivet.com.au.
24/7 Small Animal Emergency
Our after-hours emergency team operates continuously for unexpected out-of-hours pet emergencies and for unwell patients. We are a fully operational 24-hour multi-purpose emergency hospital and we provide comprehensive veterinary care for your pets in need at any time of the day or night.
We are equipped with a modern intensive care unit, multi-purpose state-of-the-art surgical suite, digital radiology, full in-house laboratory, high-quality advanced ultrasound, endoscopy, and a wide range of high-level monitoring and systematic diagnostic equipment.
Schedule A General Surgery Appointment For Your Pet Now!
