The Large Animal Surgery Service at the Atlantic Veterinary College provides expertise in all aspects of elective and emergency surgeries. Our surgical specialist clinicians, certified by the American College of Veterinary Surgery, are trained in all aspects of lameness, soft tissue and orthopedic surgery.
The AVC’s Large Animal Surgery clinicians are supported by a team of experienced and dedicated house officers and registered veterinary technicians to provide optimal care for your animal.
The Large Animal Surgery service is available on-call 24-7 for all emergency needs at 902-566-0999.
Large Animal Surgery
Ahead of your appointment
Here are some things you should know before arriving for your animal’s appointment with the Large Animal Surgery service at the Atlantic Veterinary College.
- Medications: Please continue to give your animal any medications as prescribed by your local veterinarian. Please bring all current medications in their original bottles with you to your appointment.
- How to be referred: Your local veterinarian will discuss with you if referral to a veterinary specialist is recommended for your animal. If you choose to proceed with that option, your local veterinarian will contact us to provide all of the necessary information and to request an appointment. Our Client Services representatives will then contact you to schedule your appointment date and time.
- Medical Records: We require your animal’s previous medical records in order to fully evaluate their condition. Your local veterinarian will send your animal’s records to us without the need for you to do anything. If your animal has visited more than one veterinary clinic for the current condition please arrange for all records to be sent to us.
- Payments: At the Atlantic Veterinary College Teaching Hospital we accept debit cards, most major credit cards and cash. If you have any questions about your payment options please contact our hospital for more information.
- Insurance: Do you have insurance? If so, please bring your policy details with you for your appointment. If not, we encourage you to research insurance options, which can help ease your financial worries for your animal’s unexpected healthcare costs.
Financing: The Atlantic Veterinary College Teaching Hospital works with PayBright to offer our clients low-cost financing support. Please visit the PayBright website to learn more about what financing options may be available to you.
What to expect during your appointment
- What is a teaching hospital?
As the teaching hospital for Atlantic Veterinary College veterinary students, our goal at the AVC-VTH is to provide exceptional veterinary care to your animal while also providing clinical teaching and instruction to our senior (final year) veterinary students, interns and residents. Students participate in many aspects of examining and treating our patients under the immediate supervision of our licensed veterinarians and board-certified veterinary specialists. Incorporating teaching into your animal’s appointment does take additional time, but our clinical care team does their best to provide prompt, efficient service within the hospital’s teaching environment. As the only institution in Atlantic Canada educating doctors of veterinary medicine, teaching is essential to our hospital, however the well-being of our patients remains the highest priority for our clinical care team.
In addition to educating our students, our specialty services also provide advanced clinical teaching to interns and residents. These are licensed veterinarians pursuing additional training to gain advanced competency in a specific area of veterinary medicine.
The AVC-VTH is a multi-disciplinary hospital. Our Large Animal Surgery service works in conjunction with other specialty services within our hospital including large animal medicine, radiology, and anesthesia, as well as our diagnostic laboratory, to ensure that your animal has access to the best in specialty care, diagnostic testing and treatment.
- What to expect during your appointment?
- AVC is a veterinary teaching hospital and we strive to provide the next generation of veterinarians the best teaching experience in order to prepare them to look after your animals in the future. Rest assured however that the surgical procedures are performed by the specially trained surgeon and they oversee all aspects of the animals care. Students are invaluable in taking special care of the patients and monitoring them very closely with the whole team of technicians, residents, interns and students coming together under the supervising surgeon to provide excellent 24-7 care of your animal.
- Typically, your animal will arrive the day before its scheduled surgery. You will be greeted at your trailer by a final year DVM student assigned to your animal’s care and other members of the large animal surgery team. Your animal will be taken into the hospital, weighed and made comfortable in a stall while the student and veterinarians obtain history and pertinent information about feeding and handling.
- Once your animal is settled in, a full physical examination will be done to ensure they are ready for their procedure. Blood will be drawn for a general health assessment prior to performing anesthesia. The surgeon overseeing the case will discuss the recommended procedure and their findings with you and give you an opportunity to ask any questions you may have.
- On the morning of the scheduled surgery, a catheter will be placed in the jugular vein (in the neck region), which is used to deliver pain medications, sedation/anesthetic drugs and in some cases, antibiotics. Your animal will be walked to the surgical induction suite and then sedated to relieve any anxiety.
- Horses are positioned in an induction gate to support their smooth descent to the ground when they are administered their anesthetic medications. Smaller animals will be hand-assisted to the ground. Once asleep a breathing tube will be placed and connected to the anesthetic machine before the patient is lifted and positioned on the surgery table.
- The surgery site will be clipped, prepared and draped for surgery using sterile techniques.
- Once the surgical procedure is complete, your animal will be moved to a recovery area where they will peacefully wake up from their anesthesia. Once awake and able to stand and walk easily, they are returned to their stall and slowly reintroduced to feed as appropriate.
- In most elective surgery cases, patients remain hospitalized for 12-36 hours to monitor their recovery and observe them for any signs of complications. Bandages will be changed the morning following surgery. You and your referring veterinarian will be provided with full written instructions regarding aftercare upon discharge.
- You are encouraged to contact us if you have any concerns after discharge and we will work together with you and your local veterinarian to find the best possible treatment and outcome for your animal.
- Do I have to leave a deposit and how are payments made?
- The clinician responsible for your animal will discuss all of the recommended diagnostics and treatments and will review with you an estimate for your animal’s care. We understand that each animal and client is unique and we will work with you to determine the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment options for your family.
- This estimate will cover a range because some elements of your animal’s stay may vary, such as the treatment and length of hospitalization, depending on what they find and how your animal responds to treatment.
- Before we can proceed with your animal’s diagnostic and treatment plans, you will be required to leave a deposit of 50% of the upper range of the estimate.
- If changes are recommended to your animal’s care plan during their hospitalization, you will be provided with an updated estimate and may be asked to top-up your deposit amount.
- The remainder of the balance will be due at the time of discharge.
- Payments: At the Atlantic Veterinary College Teaching Hospital we accept debit cards, most major credit cards and cash. If you have any questions about your payment options please contact our hospital for more information.
- Insurance: Do you have insurance? If so, please bring your policy details with you for your appointment. If not, we encourage you to research insurance for your animal, which can help ease your financial worries for your animal’s unexpected healthcare costs.
- Financing: The Atlantic Veterinary College Teaching Hospital works with PayBright to offer our clients low-cost financing support. Please visit the PayBright website to learn more about what financing options may be available to you.
About us
The AVC-VTH is passionate about its goal to provide an outstanding level of health care for its animal patients while also providing clinical teaching and instruction to our senior (final year) Doctor of Veterinary Medicine students, interns and residents.[more]
Clinic hours
The AVC Veterinary Teaching Hospital operates 8 AM to 10 PM 7-365. Our front desk is staffed from 8am until 11pm 7 days a week. Clients can call to make appointments, request prescription refills, or to make other general inquiries during those hours. Appointments for Community Practice and Specialty Services are scheduled from Monday to Friday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm based on service availability. Clients with animal emergencies can call between 8 AM and 10 PM-7-365.
AVC Urgent & Emergency Primary Care
8am-10pm Mon-Sun
If you are a small animal pet owner experiencing an emergency, please call 902-566-0950 or our primary Emergency Service. If you are a registered large animal client of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital (including Farm Service and Ambulatory Equine Service clients) and are experiencing an emergency, please call 902-566-0950 and our team will contact the appropriate on-call large animal clinician.
To make an appointment
AVC Small Animal Hospital
Companion animals, exotic animals, pocket pets, wildlife
902-566-0950
AVC Large Animal Hospital
Horses, cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, and other farm animals
902-566-0999
AVC Ambulatory Equine Services
On-farm and racetrack care for horses
902-566-0992
AVC Farm Service
Herd health, on-farm and emergency service for cattle, pigs, fish and other farm animals
902-566-0900