Safe, transparent surgical care for dogs and cats
Surgery is a big moment for any pet owner. At Tiny Pet Clinic in Phuket, we focus on safety, transparency, and pain-first recovery: every planned procedure includes a pre-anesthetic workup, AAHA 2020 anesthesia monitoring, and a calm discussion with you at each step. Book a surgery consult below and we will walk through your pet's specific case together.
Ask About Pricing
Before surgery — pre-anesthetic workup
Every planned procedure typically starts with a short consult and a pre-anesthetic workup: a review of your pet's history, a fresh physical exam, and pre-anesthetic bloodwork that lets us tailor the plan to your pet rather than to an average case. We talk through what to feed and when to stop food and water the night before, plus how your pet will be prepared on the day. The exact panel of pre-anesthetic tests depends on your pet's age, any ongoing medication, and the procedure itself — we explain what we are recommending and why, and you sign off before we proceed.
Anesthesia safety — AAHA 2020 monitoring
Anesthesia is typically the single biggest source of anxiety for owners, and we treat it that way. We follow the 2020 AAHA Anesthesia and Monitoring Guidelines for Dogs and Cats as our reference for modern, continuous monitoring. Typical modern practice includes a trained team member watching the pet continuously, with support from monitoring of oxygenation, ventilation (including end-tidal CO2 where available), cardiac rate and rhythm, blood pressure, anesthetic depth, muscle relaxation, body temperature, and ongoing pain assessment. Not every parameter is monitored identically in every case — the plan scales with your pet and the procedure, and we walk you through what will be in place on the day.
Pain management approach
Our approach to surgical pain is multimodal: rather than relying on a single class of medicine, we typically combine approaches that work in different ways so each can be kept at a calmer dose. This is aligned with the AAHA 2020 pain-management framework and is how most modern veterinary surgery is run. The common building blocks are:
Recovery & post-op care at home
Most pets go home the same day or the day after surgery. We usually send you home with a short, written post-op plan: an e-collar or soft recovery suit to stop licking, a quiet resting area, reduced activity for roughly one to two weeks depending on the procedure, and a schedule for the medications we dispense. We typically book a recheck for suture or incision inspection at the appropriate interval for the procedure. If at any point between visits something does not look right, you can message us and we will follow up — recovery is rarely perfectly linear and that is expected.
When to call us after surgery
Most post-op recoveries are uneventful, but there are a handful of signs that we want to hear about sooner rather than later. If you see any of the following, contact us — the callout below is the short-list version you can keep on your phone. We would rather you message us about something small that turns out to be normal than wait on something that is not.
Is anesthesia safe for my older pet?
Modern veterinary anesthesia is typically much safer than many owners expect, including for senior pets — age alone is usually not a reason to avoid a needed procedure. What matters more is the pre-anesthetic workup and the monitoring plan. We follow the AAHA 2020 guidelines on anesthesia and monitoring, tailor the plan to your pet's heart, kidney, liver, and bloodwork results, and talk openly about risks and what we do to reduce them. If something in the workup gives us pause, we pause.
Will my pet be in pain afterward?
Pain control is planned before your pet wakes up. We use a multimodal approach — a combination of pre-emptive pain relief, local blocks where suitable, opioid-class medication during and after surgery, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory support when safe for your pet. You go home with clearly labelled medication and instructions. If your pet still seems uncomfortable at home after following the plan, please tell us — pain relief is adjustable and we would rather know.
How long is the recovery?
Recovery length depends on the procedure. Routine soft-tissue surgery and spay or neuter procedures typically see pets back to roughly normal activity within one to two weeks, with a recheck in between. Orthopaedic surgery and larger abdominal procedures take longer. We give you a procedure-specific timeline before the day and update it at each recheck based on how your pet is actually healing.
Can I stay with my pet during surgery?
You are welcome to stay with your pet up to the point of induction, which often makes the pre-op moment calmer for both of you. Once your pet is asleep and prepared, we ask owners to wait outside the surgical area — it keeps the field clean, the team focused, and the anesthesia plan running smoothly. We update you as soon as the procedure is done.
What pre-surgery tests do you run?
Pre-anesthetic bloodwork is our default for any planned procedure — the exact panel depends on your pet's age, ongoing medication, and the surgery. In some cases we also recommend imaging such as chest or abdominal radiographs, an ECG for older pets, or more targeted tests when the history suggests them. We explain what we are ordering and why before anything is run, and the results shape the anesthesia plan.
What surgeries do you do in-house, and when do you refer?
We do most routine soft-tissue surgery in-house — spay, neuter, lump removal, wound repair, and similar procedures. For advanced orthopaedic, thoracic, or neurosurgery cases, we prefer to refer to a higher-throughput surgical hospital and continue to share your pet's care through the process. When a procedure is at the edge of what we do in-house, we will tell you that openly rather than push it through, and we will help arrange the referral.
How much will it cost?
Surgical pricing is estimate-by-procedure — anesthesia time, bloodwork, medication, and any imaging all change the final number. Rather than publish a menu price that may not apply to your pet, we give you a written estimate after the consult so you can decide before we book anything. Message us with the procedure and your pet's details and we will share current pricing.