Operating Theatres

Gordon Vet Hospital is fortunate to have the space for 2 operating theatres. This allows one of our theatres to be reserved for orthopaedic procedures such as fracture repairs and cruciate ligament repairs (a common injury in the hindlimb of dogs). The other room can then be used for soft tissue surgery, including desexing operations, lump removals and gastrointestinal surgery (eg surgical retrieval of foreign objects from the bowel that have been inadvertently swallowed). All of our vets are qualified and have at least 10 years experience in surgery, operating from Monday to Friday. The weekend is mainly reserved for emergency surgery if needed.

Dr Chris Boulton has extra surgical training and is a Member of the Australian College of Veterinary Scientists in this field (MACVSc) which allows him to perform some of the more complex reconstructive and orthopaedic procedures. For this reason, he is especially involved in trauma cases.

While animals are under an anaesthetic, their body heat is lost more easily and hypothermia can occur if not actively prevented. To stop this from happening, we have installed heated thermostat-regulated surgical tables and for animals undergoing a long procedure, we have a heat bed the animal can lie in while being operated on. This is an inflatable bed that hot air is blown into which then surrounds the animal while the patient is on the table. It has been scientifically proven to reduce the onset of hypothermia during surgery. The temperature is regularly checked by the theatre nurse.

The operating theatres are fully equipped with advanced monitoring equipment alerting us of problems early so they can be corrected immediately (oxygen saturation, blood pressure & carbon dioxide levels). A trained theatre nurse closely monitors the heart rate, breathing and depth of anaesthesia.

Adjoining the 2 operating theatres is a surgical preparation area where the vet will “scrub up” for 10 minutes for sterile surgery. This is a systemic cleaning process with an antiseptic for the hands and arms of the surgeon. This procedure dramatically reduces the incidence of post-operative infections. All long or major surgery, especially those involving bones, joints or the abdominal cavity require the vet to “gown up” (wear a sterile surgical gown). All surgeons were a surgical hat, mask and gloves to further improve the barrier to infection.

The autoclave is used to sterilise the instruments for surgery so that every patient has an individual sterile surgical kit.

The extra measures taken to protect your pet gives the best results and lowest rate of complication rate. We are happy to use our resources to constantly upgrade the equipment here, ensuring an exceptional standard of care for patients undergoing surgery.