Pain Management
The comfort of all our patients following surgery is a high priority. Pain relief is a very important welfare issue and we take this matter very seriously. Pain relief begins before surgery with injection of morphine or other opioids and in appropriate cases the use of epidurals, specific nerve blocks or infusion of the surgical site with local anaesthetic. During surgery pain is controlled by general anaesthetic gas. Pain relief continues after surgery with anti-inflammatory and opioid drugs either as a constant intravenous infusion or as injections.
All dogs undergoing routine neutering operations (spey or castration) at The Vet Centre are sent home with several days of pain relief medication and all cats receive a long-acting pain relief injection. All this is included in the set price of neutering.
Acupuncture
We offer acupuncture in some circumstances where conventional treatment modalities have been insufficient in relieving all symptoms. The most common situation in which we use acupuncture is for musculoskeletal conditions such as arthritis, backpain or intervertebral disc disease that have failed to respond to other treatment options. We have also used it with some success in the treatment of epilepsy when conventional treatment has been insufficient in controlling seizures.
Acupuncture involves the insertion of needles into body tissue at acupuncture points where nerve bundles and blood vessels come together. Sometimes we insert gold beads under the skin at acupuncture points instead of needles. Stimulation of acupuncture points is thought to stimulate release of natural pain relief and anti-inflammatory substances.
Stuart Burrough has been trained in veterinary acupuncture techniques.