What is the role of your veterinarian during specialized surgery?
Everything you need to know about your veterinarian's role before, during, and after specialized surgery
When specialized surgery is recommended, your veterinarian doesn't disappear from the picture when a specialist steps in. On the contrary, they remain an important player before, during, and after the surgical process.
It is usually your veterinarian who detects the problem, establishes or initiates the diagnosis, recommends initial tests, and transmits the necessary information to the specialist team. Together, the two teams then determine the additional tests required, the most appropriate treatment, and the suitable environment for surgery.
After the procedure, your veterinarian can also participate in monitoring healing, checking the incision, some radiographic follow-ups, adjusting medications, and the gradual resumption of activities.
Specialized surgery relies on collaboration. Your veterinarian knows your pet and its medical history. The specialized team brings its surgical expertise. The patient benefits from both.
Veterinary medicine is evolving rapidly. The information presented in this article is based on available recommendations and our team's experience at the time of publication. It is not a substitute for a veterinary evaluation tailored to your pet.
A persistent limp. A growing mass. Unrelenting vomiting. An X-ray revealing a fracture.
Before specialized surgery is even considered, your veterinarian is usually the first person to put the pieces of the puzzle together. They examine your pet, gather its history, recommend appropriate diagnostic tests, and evaluate the various treatment options.
Some conditions can be treated medically or surgically at the facility. Others require a more advanced procedure, specialized equipment, or the expertise of a surgical specialist.
In Quebec, companion animal surgery is one of the veterinary specialties recognized by the Quebec Order of Veterinarians. Therefore, when your veterinarian recommends a specialist, they are not withdrawing from the case.
He is expanding the team.
Referring a patient does not mean "passing on the file".
This is probably one of the most important misconceptions to correct. A surgical referral does not mean that your veterinarian hands your pet over to someone else and waits to see what happens.
The American Animal Hospital Association guidelines describe specialist care as a collaborative care model, in which the frontline team and the specialist team share information and coordinate their interventions around the patient.
The American College of Veterinary Surgeons also presents the owner, the veterinarian, and the specialist surgeon as a single team that collaborates before and after surgery.
In other words: adding a specialist doesn't replace your veterinarian. It adds specific expertise at the right time.
Your veterinarian helps to build the case before surgery
Before determining how and where your pet will be operated on, the specialist team needs to understand precisely its condition.
Your veterinarian can transmit, among other things:
consultation notes;
X-rays and other medical images;
blood test results;
ultrasound reports or other examinations;
the list of medications;
medical and surgical history;
the evolution of the problem;
treatments already tried and their effectiveness.
This information allows the surgeon to assess the case before the procedure and identify what is missing.
Sometimes, everything is already there. In other situations, further X-rays, cytology, biopsy, ultrasound, blood tests, or a specialist consultation may be recommended.
The more relevant information teams have before surgery, the more accurately they can plan the process.
Who decides if surgery is truly necessary?
The specialist does not necessarily receive a case with a single mission: to operate.
Their role also includes assessing whether the proposed surgery truly represents the best option. After reviewing the medical file and examining the patient when necessary, the specialist team can confirm the initial recommendation, suggest an alternative technique, request further tests, or conclude that a non-surgical treatment should be attempted first. This is where collaboration becomes invaluable.
Your veterinarian brings their comprehensive knowledge of the patient and its progress. The specialist brings extensive experience with the surgical condition and the various procedures used to treat it.
The goal is not to determine who is "right." It's to create the best possible plan for your pet.
The pre-operative assessment: a team effort
Safe surgery begins well before entering the operating room. Depending on your pet's age, condition, and medical history, your veterinarian may perform or coordinate part of the pre-operative assessment.
This may include a physical examination, blood tests, urine tests, X-rays, or other tests tailored to the patient. If an abnormality is discovered, it can be discussed with the specialist team before surgery.
Should the anesthetic protocol be modified? Should the patient's condition be stabilized before the procedure? Should an additional examination be performed? Should the procedure be postponed? Should the patient be referred to an environment offering more resources?
All these decisions can be made before the day of surgery, rather than when your pet is already ready to be anesthetized. In medicine, as in construction, discovering a problem before work begins generally makes the day easier.
In Coupez's mobile surgery model, the specialized team travels directly to a partner facility to perform the procedure. This allows your veterinarian and their team to remain involved in several stages of the process.
Depending on the facility's organization and the type of surgery, they may participate in admission, patient preparation, inpatient care, and the transmission of important information regarding the patient's condition or behavior. For its part, the specialist team provides the expertise, instruments, and equipment required for the surgery.
At Coupez, the process is designed around three main stages: diagnosis with your veterinarian, surgery with our specialized team, and follow-up care conducted collaboratively after the procedure. Two teams, one patient. It's intentionally simple.
Collaboration between teams and post-operative follow-up for optimal care
Who is responsible for the anesthesia?
The organization of anesthesia may vary depending on the department, the institution, and the complexity of the patient.
What matters is that responsibilities are clearly defined before the procedure. The protocol must be adapted to the animal's health condition, and a person must be dedicated to monitoring it during anesthesia.
Your veterinarian can help with this planning by providing medical history, previous anesthetic reactions, medications administered, and pre-operative assessment results.
The surgical team can then integrate this information into the perioperative planning. Again, information flows in both directions.
After surgery, your veterinarian resumes their full role.
The last stitch does not mark the end of treatment. Healing continues for several days or several weeks, depending on the surgery performed.
Your veterinarian can then play a particularly important role.
In particular, it can:
examine the incision;
remove points when necessary;
monitor pain and comfort;
assess appetite and general condition;
adjust certain medications according to the recommendations;
monitor the resumption of activity;
to perform control x-rays;
quickly identify any unusual developments;
transmit the results to the specialist team.
The ACVS indicates that after surgery and the necessary specialist follow-ups, the frontline veterinarian resumes the ongoing care of the animal.
The AAHA guidelines also emphasize that a clear definition of roles before, during and after a referral facilitates continuity of care and improves coordination between teams.
Who should I call if something doesn't seem normal?
It depends on the time, the problem, and the arrangements made for your pet.
After specialized surgery, you should know the following before returning home:
who to contact for a question about medication;
who to contact if you are worried about the incision;
where to go in case of an emergency;
who will carry out the next check;
when follow-up X-rays will be necessary;
how the results will be communicated to the surgeon.
Some questions can be handled directly by your veterinarian. Others require the advice of a specialist team. Good collaboration helps prevent you from having to decide where to turn on your own.
If you observe anything unusual, start by contacting the team designated in your post-operative instructions.
In a referral center, your pet travels to the specialist team. In mobile surgery, the specialist team travels to you.
This difference significantly alters the dynamics. Your veterinarian remains directly involved in the process. The facility, which already knows the patient, hosts the surgical team, information is shared between professionals, and a significant portion of the follow-up can remain centralized in one place.
At Coupez, we've built our model around this collaboration. Your veterinarian makes the diagnosis and provides us with the necessary information. Our team analyzes the case, plans the procedure, and travels to perform the surgery when the case is suitable for mobile care. After the procedure, we provide our recommendations and remain available to support follow-up care. The specialist, therefore, doesn't work "alongside" your veterinarian.
He works with him.
In conclusion
At Coupez, surgery is specialized. Care remains collaborative. Our role is not to replace your veterinarian.
It is to give him access to a specialist team when one of his patients requires more advanced surgery.
Your veterinarian remains involved in the diagnosis, preparation, and continuity of care. Our team provides surgical expertise, plans and performs the procedure, and then supports the facility with postoperative follow-up.
This way of working allows us to keep everyone's skills where they are most needed. Your veterinarian knows your pet. Our team is skilled in surgery. And everyone knows their role.
