Our Process
Your Family Vet Partner
As a specialty practice, the goal of Bay Area Veterinary Surgery (BAVS) is to partner with your family veterinarian to provide the highest level of care for our patients. If you feel your pet requires specialized care or the option of advanced surgical procedures, please contact your regular veterinarian for a preliminary diagnosis and referral.
Referral From Your Family Veterinarian
- Our role as a specialty practice is to partner with your family veterinarian to provide any necessary advanced surgical options for your pet.
- If you feel your pet might benefit from the expertise of a surgical specialist, please contact your regular veterinarian for a preliminary diagnosis and referral.
- To confirm we have received a referral for your pet and to schedule an appointment, please call our office: 757-596-7100, option 1.
What to bring to your Appointment
Please bring the following with you to your appointment:
- Your pet (believe it or not, sometimes people forget to bring them!)
- Any regular medications you give your pet (apart from heart worm or flea/tick treatments)
- Radiographs/x-rays
- Results of any blood work or other diagnostics related to your pet’s current condition
- BAVS Client Information Form (submit electronically or fill out one when you arrive at our office)
Your Initial Consultation
- Please plan to be in our office for 1-1/2 to 2 hours for your initial consultation.
- Dr. Dassler will perform a thorough examination to determine a diagnosis and is well known for the extra time he takes to explain all available options to our clients.
- If surgery is recommended, you will be given a written estimate, which does not include post-operative overnight care at the adjacent Peninsula Animal Referral Center (PARC) Emergency Care. PARC Emergency has a licensed veterinarian on-site 24-hours a day, and we are fortunate to have a cooperative relationship with their doctors.
- While our estimates try to account for any overnight care fees, you will be billed separately by the PARC Emergency.
Pre-Operative Instructions
- Please do not feed your pet after 10:00pm the night before surgery. You may continue to provide water.
- You will be given a specific drop-off time for your pet’s surgery day.
- Dr. Dassler or a surgical team member will call you when surgery has been completed.
- We have a wide selection of foods (wet and dry) and provide patients with food and comfortable bedding while they are in our care. You are welcome to bring your pet’s own food if he/she is on a special diet.
- It is not necessary to bring any other personal belongings. We do our best to keep any personal items with our patients, but unfortunately things can go missing, and we do not want to be responsible for the loss of a favorite toy or blanket.
- Please bring with you any medication or left-over medicine that was previously prescribed for your pet’s current problem. If your pet has a medical condition which requires long-term administrations of medications (for example, insulin for diabetes, or thyroid supplements for hypothyroidism) please speak with the surgeon to verify the best way to administer these medications on the day of surgery.
- Please do not bring heart worm or flea/tick treatments.
Payment
- Before admittance for diagnostic procedures or surgery, we require partial payment equal to half the figure quoted in the written estimate, created at the time of your initial consultation.
- It is our policy that payment in full is due when patients are released to the care of their families. Cash, debit cards, checks, major credit cards and CareCredit are accepted.
- While CareCredit has several different promotional payment plans, the only one BAVS offers is for No Interest If Paid in Full within 6 Months. The CareCredit promotional plan states that no interest will be charged on the purchase amount if you pay it in full within the promotional 6-month period. If you do not, interest will be charged on the purchase amount from the original payment date, and this interest rate is 26.99%. CareCredit is subject to credit approval. For more information or pre-approval, please call: (800) 365-8295 or visit the website at: CARECREDIT.COM.
- Appointments cancelled without 24-hours notice will be subject to a late cancellation fee.
Aftercare
- In most cases surgery is performed to re-establish or address problems in structures of the body.
- After surgery the body will need to go through a period of healing. It is extremely important that a doctor’s recommendations be followed during this time period to avoid a complication that may lead to more patient discomfort or a potential need for additional surgery.
- In most cases patients should be kept less active to avoid stresses, allow for proper healing and prevent break down of the surgical repair.
- At checkout you will be given a printout of detailed post-operative care and management for your pet. Please follow all instructions carefully and do not hesitate to call our office with any questions or concerns.
Follow-Up/Re-Checks
- After your initial consultation, and as your pet’s case progresses, Dr. Dassler will regularly communicate with your veterinarian.
- About 2 weeks after surgery, your pet will need to have sutures removed. You may have sutures removed by your family veterinarian, but we do like to check on our patients’ progress and prefer you return to our offices if at all possible — we do not charge a fee for simple suture removal.
- Some orthopedic procedures require follow-up radiographs and evaluation, and there are fees for the patient exam and diagnostics. These re-check appointments are typically scheduled 8 weeks after surgery.
- Please note: If we have not seen your pet for over 3 months, and you need to make an appointment, we will schedule you for a full consult, not a re-check.
