Surgery

We do regularly deal with the common Brachycephalic (short nosed) breeds and are used to managing their wide variety of requirements, including BOAS signs and cherry eye. We do not have specialists in house but do have well established referral connections with Anderson Moores Veterinary Specialists and Southern Counties Veterinary Specialists. We are acutely aware that for a variety of reasons referral is not always achievable or manageable in every case, and are thus proud to be able to offer a some of these procedures in house as well. We can offer in house BOAS surgeries, performing rhinoplasty’s (increasing nostril size) for stenotic (narrow) noses as well as palatoplasty (shortening the soft palate) using our new surgical laser. Please do contact us and we can discuss the process from consultation, to BOAS grading to the surgery itself and the after care.

We do have vets who are interested in Orthopaedics who have been performing a number of orthopaedic procedures over the years. We do not have specialists in house but do have well established referral connections with Anderson Moores Veterinary Specialists and Southern Counties Veterinary Specialists. We are acutely aware that for a variety of reasons referral is not always achievable or manageable in every case, and are thus proud to be able to offer a some of these procedures in house as well. These include surgeries for cruciate disease, especially using the Orthomed MMP procedure. As with all things the starting point is a consultation with one of our Vets and its likely some radiographs will be taken under anaesthetic to both confirm the diagnosis and plan the procedure. We are always happy to talk about all the different options from conservative management, to surgery with us to referral and help you ascertain the best option for you and your pet. We also regularly help look after these patients during their recovery and are happy to help in any way we can.

We do have vets who are interested in Orthopaedics who have been performing a number of orthopaedic procedures over the years. We do not have specialists in house but do have well established referral connections with Anderson Moores Veterinary Specialists and Southern Counties Veterinary Specialists. We are acutely aware that for a variety of reasons referral is not always achievable or manageable in every case, and are thus proud to be able to offer a some of these procedures in house as well. These include surgeries for correcting Dislocating Knee-caps. While a small number of cases need more advanced surgery, in almost all cases a Block Sulcoplasty (deepening of the groove within which the patella sits) and a Tibial Tuberosity Transposition (re-aligning the pull of the quadriceps muscle within whose tendon the patella/kneecap sits) are normally the first steps.  As with most Orthopaedics, the first step is a consultation to discuss your pets needs and some x-rays for both confirming a diagnosis and ruling out other co-morbitidities.

We do have vets who are interested in Ophthalmology who are currently studying towards a certificate in the subject. Although this does not make them a Specialist and Referral for Specialist advise and treatment is still a vital option having some extra knowledge in these areas in practice is very useful. We are well equipped with regards to equipment required for treatment of most common Ophthalmological conditions including a Direct Ophthalmoscope (to look at the retina at the back of the eye), Slit Lamp (to examine the cornea, lens and iris in greater detail), Tonovet (to assess eye pressure) as well as the common array of stains, tear production tests, tear duct flushing equipment and so on. We are also proficient in cherry eye surgeries and entropion surgeries, two conditions becoming more common in the popular flat nosed breeds. Our vets are happy to assess all cases and discuss the different options both in house and at referral level to ensure your pet gets the care it needs.

We do have vets who are interested in Orthopaedics who have been performing a number of orthopaedic procedures over the years. We do not have specialists in house but do have well established referral connections with Anderson Moores Veterinary Specialists and Southern Counties Veterinary Specialists. We are acutely aware that for a variety of reasons referral is not always achievable or manageable in every case, and are thus proud to be able to offer a variety of procedures in house as well. We would always recommend a consultation or discussion with our team either in a consultation/via phone or email to assess what would be the best option for your pet and either way be present to support you through the whole process (we appreciate the stresses and challenges that come with such cases). As mentioned else where we thoroughly enjoy our Arthritis care and irregardless to where you pet has their procedure will be here to help you manage the post operative period and on going care.

At Mainstone Vets we all have a passion for helping our clients’ pets, especially in their senior years. We see lots of older large breed dogs who have had great lives running around the New Forest. Unfortunately, in our older large breed dogs we do see Lumbo-sacral disease. Lumbosacral disease is the degeneration of the lower spine (towards the pelvis), which can include the compression of the nerves.

This joint is actually the highest-motion joint in your dog’s spine. AS it undergoes a unique set of stresses (very similar to the human lower back), degeneration can occur at this site. This area is the transition from the very mobile lower spine to the fused sacrum, and hence is a stress riser.

This can lead to arthritis in the articulations in the area, degenerative disc disease (including protrusion of the disc) and this instability in the area. This can lead to compression or impingement of nerves in the area causing the signs that you may be seeing at home, or that we can pick up here. Clinical signs include:

• Pain in the caudal lumbar region
• Pelvic limb weakness (reluctance to jump, climb and rise)
• Pelvic Kyphosis (lowered back end)
• Reaction to digital pressure around the lower back
• Low Lumbar lordosis painful (evoked by hind-limb extension)
• Proprioceptive deficits
• Urinary or faecal incontinence
• Stamping (nerve root signature)

Whilst there are a number of medical and in some cases surgical options steroid epidurals are also an option.

We are aware that Lumbo-sacral disease is increasingly common in our older patients, whose owners are often concerned about putting their old pet through what is a significantly invasive surgery.

In these cases, assuming clinical and radiographical evidence supports the diagnosis of lumbo-sacral disease (can’t be definitive without MRI) then a steroid epidural can be considered. The rational is that all aspects of lumbo-sacral disease are exacerbated by inflammation in the area. This local deposition of steroid, which has very strong anti-inflammatory effects, can lead to a significant improvement or relief from some of the symptoms.

Placing the epidural is very challenging as there is a lot of soft tissue between the surgeon and the small area surrounded by bone. In lumbo-sacral disease, even more bone can proliferate around this small window in some cases leaving us unable to access the area. The first epidural should be performed to check for improvement in signs.

The epidural takes 1-4 days and see improvement, and we see improvement in 79% of cases. This commonly works for about 2 weeks after which amelioration can deteriorate. If improvement is sufficient repeat epidurals at 14 (12-16) and 6 weeks after day 1 (40 – 50 days). This has been shown to give the longest duration of amelioration, with the average time to relapse from day if having all 3 being 5.3 months. Your vet will have a consultation with you between each epidural to help assess efficacy and determine which protocol to follow in each case.

We hope by offering this service to improve not only the quality but potentially the longevity of you pets life, enabling them to continue to be active in their later years. If you have any queries please contact us and we will do our best to assist you.

We are proud of our modern, fully equipped surgical theatre. We are set up with a purpose built warmed operating table and new state of the art theatre lights, giving our surgeons the best environment to look after your pets. We are fortunate to have the latest monitoring equipment allowing us to ensure our anaesthetics are as safe as possible. Patients are continuous having their ECG monitored, blood pressure measurements taken, analysis of the gases being breathed in and out in every breathe as well at their core temperature measured. Almost all our patients (unless inappropriate) receive fluid therapy during their anaesthetics, and this is performed and monitored by our automated fluid pumps. We have a broad array of surgical equipment allowing us to perform a wide range of procedures with up-to-date techniques, including the use of electrocautery allowing for better control of bleeding during surgery, greatly reducing surgical times and improved wound healing.