Information for Pet Owners
Consultation with Dr Bibevski can be scheduled either through your veterinarian by request or directly through COR Veterinary Surgery Services at the contact information provided.
We are a consultant surgery service that can perform clinical consultation and surgery on your pet, in your own veterinarian's office. Once a consultation is scheduled, you will have the opportunity to meet the COR team where the details of your pet's condition, surgery plan, expected recovery etc will be discussed in detail with you. All of your questions will be answered and then some!
Surgery, if deemed necessary, will be planned and performed in your doctor's office, based on resources available. You will be in contact with Dr. Bibevski before and after the surgery and most patients will be discharged the same day. We are aggressive with pain control measures to help facilitate a same day, safe and comfortable discharge for your pet.
Frequently Asked Questions
General
COR Veterinary Surgery Services consists of Dr. Jennifer Bibevski, DACVS, a Board Certified, small animal surgeon and her surgical nurses. Dr. Bibevski has been in the field for over 12 years and offers comprehensive care for your pet in conjunction with your primary vet.
Board certification is a set of examinations and certifications offered to individuals that complete a 3-year veterinary surgery residency program, which follows veterinary school and internship training. After successfully passing all certification examinations, individuals are accepted into the American College of Veterinary Surgeons or ACVS and granted the title “Diplomate” of the College with initials DACVS after their name signifying their level of training and education.
Decision making in the care of your pet is no less complicated than human medicine. Having surgery by a board certified surgeon implies that the person operating on your animal has successfully completed the rigorous training requirements set forth by the ACVS and is qualified in the decision process and the actual operation.
Needing surgery for your pet is a stressful and scary experience that we fully acknowledge. At COR, we strive to make this process as easy as possible by communicating with you before and after the surgery, answering any questions you may have regarding the operation and providing written instructions for after care. We also are in direct communication with your doctor and you in the event any questions arise.
We work hand in hand with your doctor to diagnose and treat any surgical problem. After an examination with your doctor identifying a potential problem, your doctor will contact Dr. Bibevski/COR Vet Surgery Services to set up a consultation, which will occur in your doctor’s office. This is an opportunity for you to meet Dr. Bibevski and her team and an opportunity for us to meet your pet. We will perform an examination, review any tests already performed, discuss the logistics of surgery, hospital stay, recovery, follow-up and any questions you may still have. There is no expectation to schedule surgery at the time of your consultation but if you elect to do so, we can accommodate this request.
Absolutely! We are happy to schedule consultation visits at your doctor’s office the same day of surgery or a day prior to surgery. For convenience purposes, we are also happy to schedule phone consultations and Skype consultations to accommodate busy schedules. This can sometimes alleviate some of the stress associated with surgery by having an opportunity to ask pressing questions ahead of time.
The Day of Surgery
On the day of surgery, you will take your pet to your doctor’s office to be admitted. If a consultation is scheduled with Dr. Bibevski / COR at that time, you will meet the COR team personally. If a consultation was already performed, you may drop your pet off per your doctor’s hospital admit policy. Dr. Bibevski will contact you before the procedure starts and again once it ends.
Please bring all medications that your pet is currently on even those recently discontinued including insulin if your pet is diabetic.
If your pet is NOT a diabetic or less than 8 months of age, you may feed them until midnight, prior to surgery. They can have free access to water until they are admitted to the hospital. Otherwise, please consult with your doctor.
If you are unsure, please do NOT give your pet medicine the day of surgery unless instructed to do so. Bring all medications with you to the hospital however.
We will contact you prior to starting anesthesia on your pet and again as soon as the surgical procedure is finished. If any emergent situations occur during surgery, you will be contacted immediately.
The length of the procedure and anesthesia depends on the patient and specific surgery to be performed. This will be discussed during the consultation session.
After Surgery
Most pets will be discharged near the end of the same business day so that they can be monitored after surgery for several hours.
A member of your doctor’s staff will discharge your pet. Dr. Bibevski and COR nurses will provide written instructions for home care and also a summary of the procedure performed.
Please reach out to your doctor with any concerns that may arise. In the event of an emergency, you can also email COR at [email protected] or call . Please note that we are not an emergency service but will try to answer any questions if it outside of your doctors regular business hours.
The recommendations for physical activity depend on the type and specifics of the procedure performed. Typically, your pet should be limited to very short walks outside and always on a leash for elimination purposes. No running, jumping or playing is permitted for a period of 1-2 weeks (abdominal procedures), 6-8 weeks (orthopedics). After your pets’ recheck visit (1-2 weeks after surgery), you will receive further instructions regarding allowed activity.
Unless we advise you differently, we only want you to keep a watchful eye on the incision. We want to be alerted if you notice any redness, swelling, moisture or odor. We want the incision to stay clean and dry. Please do not allow your pet to lick or chew at the incision site, swim or play in water during the healing period.
When the incision heals. This will be determined at the recheck visit, 7-14 days after surgery.
No. Due to the surgery, anesthesia and medications, intestinal function can be delayed. It may take up to a week for your pet to have a bowel movement and this is ok. However, if your pet is straining to have a bowel movement, please contact your primary veterinarian or COR Veterinary Surgery Services for assistance.
Any of these changes are concerning and warrant an evaluation of the bandage either with your primary veterinarian immediately. Bandages can quickly cause problems to your pets skin and we take these issues very seriously.
If your pet will not take his/her prescribed medications after surgery you can try to hide them in their normal food or try meat flavored baby food or boiled chicken/hamburger. If these tricks do not work, please contact your general doctor. If your pet has allergies, please consult with a doctor before trying any new foods.
It is normal for pets to have a decrease in appetite for several days after surgery due to the stress of being away from home, change in routine, anesthesia, medications etc., just as we experience in the human hospital. If you pet doesn’t have allergies or dietary restrictions, consider the following to either add to your pet’s normal food or use instead for a few days after surgery:
- Try a canned version of their normal food
- Offer meat flavored baby food
- Canned chicken
- Boiled chicken/hamburger
- Scrambled eggs
- Low fat cottage cheese
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