Services

Our standard consultation is fifteen minutes, to ensure that you have the time required to discuss your concerns in detail with the veterinary surgeon.

If we are seeing you and your pet as a second opinion from another practice, then we have an extended consultation time of thirty minutes.

It is our wish that you are able to see the veterinary surgeon of your choice and so once attending with your pet for consultation, you will automatically be booked in to see the same veterinary surgeon at your next visit.
If you cannot see the person of your choice at the time you would prefer, then you will be offered an appointment with one of our other veterinary surgeons.

All patient records are computerised so that any attending veterinary surgeon has all case details readily to hand. The continuity of case management is as important to us as it is to you and your pet.

Our medical provision at Alora Vets has modern diagnostic imaging resources which include radiography, endoscopy, ultrasound and a fully equipped in-house laboratory facility.

Our clinicians are committed to building a strong relationship with our clients, through detailed information being given about your pet’s diagnosis and the medical treatment involved.

Surgery Facilities at Alora Vets

Our hospital has two modern operating theatres with a specific scrub room for surgeons to scrub up, gown and glove prior to any procedure being performed.

The scrub room is situated between the two theatres and this means that the team are situated within a contained surgically clean area. This helps maintain sterility during all operations. 

Surgical Procedures at Alora Vets

It is our policy to use sterile gowns, gloves, hats and masks for all surgical procedures within the theatre suite. In addition, the surgical nursing team wear scrub suites and no outdoor clothing or shoes are allowed within the area.

A full range of soft tissue, orthopaedic and general surgeries are performed on small animal species. 

Through the Keyhole..... What is Laparoscopic Surgery?

Adapted from human medicine, Veterinary Laparoscopy is a minimally invasive surgery which involves passing a camera (laparoscope) and specialised instruments through small holes in the body wall to allow a Veterinary Surgeon to perform many different surgical procedures. Laparoscopic surgery was created in people to help reduce surgical pain and allow a faster recovery period and happily the same is true within our pet population.

Why use Laparoscopic Surgery?

There are many benefits to laparoscopic surgery such as:

• Faster recovery times - on average two to four days compared to the traditional ten days
• Reduced post-operative pain - although we will always still provide tailored analgesia for your pet during and after their procedure
• Fewer post-operative complications
• Two smaller incisions - 0.5-12mm dependent on the size of your pet comapred to the larger wounds of approximately 2-4cm in cats and 5-20cm in dogs
• Improved visualisation for the surgeon
• Faster healing times

Laparoscopic versus Open Surgery Bitch Spay

Until recently, the traditional method of neutering female dogs and cats was to remove the entire reproductive tract including both ovaries and uterus (called an ovariohysterectomy) through a larger abdominal incision. A laparoscopic spay will instead remove both ovaries (called an ovariectomy) through two smaller incisions. 

Both surgeries will have the same effects longer term. Neutered females will no longer have any seasons, be able to get pregnant or develop false pregnancies.  They will not develop the potentially fatal infection of the womb (pyometra) or ovarian tumours. Neutering female dogs before their third season will also help to significantly reduce the risk of mammary tumours.

There have been multiple studies into the effects of removing just the ovaries and leaving the uterine body behind. It has been found that as long as we fully remove the ovaries from a patient there is no extra benefit from removing their uterus as well. Once removed the ovaries cannot produce any further hormones and it is not possible to develop conditions such as a pyometra or false pregnancies.

This is a specialised technique for directly visualising the inner cavities of the body without having to make large surgical openings.

It involves passing a thin telescope-like instrument (the endoscope) into the body cavity and illuminating the area with a bright light. The structures within the cavity can then be viewed through the eyepiece. Advanced systems have a videocamera attached to the endoscope and the image is viewed on a television screen and can be recorded.

The endoscopy system installed at Alora Vets uses the latest veterinary videoendoscopy equipment and is identical to the systems used in human hospitals.

EU Animal Health Certification

We are pleased to offer this service now. Please read our detailed information guide here.

Alora Vets are proud to offer acupuncture treatment for your dogs, cats and rabbits and we welcome all enquiries on the suitability of this for your individual pet. Please have a read through our information sheet about Acupuncture and please contact our team to arrange this treatment for your pet.