Our veterinarians’ high level of expertise and our practice’s fully equipped surgical suite allows us to perform the vast majority of soft tissue surgical procedures that your pet may require. Soft tissue surgery encompasses any surgery that is not related to bones. It includes procedures such as desexing, exploratory laporotomies, caesareans, lump removals, biopsies, wound stitch-ups, removal of intestinal foreign bodies - the list is endless!

A very common soft tissue surgery is the removal of lumps. Some lumps may require a biopsy prior to removal to help understand whether they are cancerous or not. This information assists us in planning the surgery accordingly to give your pet the best possible outcome. Once they have been removed we recommend sending them to our external laboratory for analysis.

Although most lumps are benign (not harmful), a minority are more serious (malignant). In the case of malignant (cancerous) tumours, early removal and an accurate diagnosis is extremely important to maximise the chances of a good outcome.

If you find a lump or bump on your pet please make an appointment to visit one of our veterinarians to discuss any surgery your pet may require. 

Depending on the type of surgery your pet is undergoing, they may have a skin or abdominal incision and they may have tissue removed or wounds repaired. If a large amount of tissue is removed the surgeon may place a drain which helps draw fluid away from the surgery site stopping undue pressure on the suture line. Sometimes a row of neat stitches is all that is obvious from your pet's surgery!

If a bandage has been applied the nurses will monitor your pet during recovery to ensure that they adjust to it & don't lick or chew at it or their sutures.  If this is the case, or if you have doubts about being able to stop them licking or chewing at home, we will place an Elizabethan collar around their neck to stop this.  These should be worn at all times unless full supervision can be given (sometimes up to 2 weeks) depending on what surgery they have undergone.

It is important too to monitor the wound & contact your friendly team if you are at all worried about the way it looks. Generally any unexpected heat, swelling, redness or discharge may be of concern.

All medication must be given to the end of its course & all recommended post-surgical check-ups must be followed.