ROYAL OAK, Mich., Sept. 30, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dr. John Simon, Royal Oak veterinarian and owner of Woodside Animal Hospital, has been performing veterinary cryosurgery for 25 years, says that cryosurgery procedures carry a 90% success rate and have fewer side effects than traditional surgeries. He explains that it is particularly helpful for treating cancer in dogs and in small pets such as rodents and birds. It also helps elderly or sick cats and dogs that may experience problems under general anesthesia. Dr. Simon says that cryosurgery can be an effective alternative to traditional pet surgery for a variety of conditions such as tumors in difficult-to-operate areas.
Dr. Simon explains that his Royal Oak veterinary care facility always tries to find the treatment that is most effective and has the fewest side effects. "Cryosurgery has very few side effects because it does not involve cutting or suturing. During cryosurgery, we apply either liquid nitrogen or nitrous oxide to a localized area to kill abnormal, unwanted tissues. We usually only need to sedate a pet to keep him or her calm, and then we use a local anesthetic instead of a general one. It is especially helpful for pets with weakened hearts, livers or kidneys."
Dr. Simon says that there are many applications for cryosurgery in pets. He uses it to remove tumors in difficult to reach areas such as the mouth or anus, for example. He says it also helps limping dogs with growths in their lower limbs, as well as smaller animals like hamsters, ferrets and birds, which can be hard to operate on. He explains that depending on the pet and the area where the growth is, the tissue is frozen with either a cryosurgery spray gun or a probe. The unwanted tissue then dies and eventually falls away after about 3 weeks.
The veterinarian says that the pet usually experiences little to no discomfort during the healing process because freezing the tissue also freezes the local nerve endings and vascular tissue surrounding the growth. Dr. Simon adds that the lack of pain, itching, stitches and bleeding during recovery time is particularly helpful. Pet owners do not have to change dressings and go to elaborate measures to keep their pets from licking, biting and picking at their wounds, he says.
Dr. Simon says, "Our animal hospital is one of the few veterinary hospitals in the area with such a long history of successfully using cryosurgery; it has saved pets and their families a lot of pain and healing time."
Dr. Simon has been treating pets at Woodside Animal Hospital through holistic and conventional treatments for 25 years. He treats dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, ferrets, guinea pigs and hamsters, and his website is located at http://www.doc4pets.com.