Surgery for Dogs and Cats
in Huntington Beach

When your pet needs surgery, you want to know two things: that they'll be safe, and that the people in the room actually know them. At Huntington Beach Pet Hospital, surgery happens with the team your pet already trusts. Abstract background with a thick, wavy orange curve on the left side against a light gray and pale blue backdrop. The modern design features smooth, flowing lines—perfect for a contemporary veterinarian or vet clinic brand. A blue silhouette of a palm tree with detailed fronds stands against a light gray background, offering a calm and soothing design perfect for any veterinarian’s office or vet clinic. A simple blue silhouette of a tall palm tree with a long curved trunk and a wide, leafy crown, set against a plain white background—a calm scene perfect for any veterinarian or vet-themed space.

Being Told Your Pet Needs
 Surgery Is Scary

Few things drop your stomach like hearing your dog or cat needs surgery. The worry sets in right away, and most of it is around one thing: the anesthesia. Will they be safe? Will they wake up? Will someone be watching the whole time?

We see that fear every day from pet owners—but we also see routine, successful surgeries every day. Our job is to take every precaution before, during, and after anesthesia, and to keep you in the loop at each step, including a phone call once they’re awake after surgery, so you're never left wondering what's happening to your pet.

A lot of pet owners also assume surgery means a referral to a specialty hospital. Much of what your pet might need can happen right here, with the team that already knows them. Light blue abstract wavy background shape Subtle, white line drawing of a leafy plant with long, slender leaves on a light gray background. The delicate illustration evokes a calming atmosphere, perfect for a veterinarian's office or vet clinic waiting area. Blue line drawing of a tropical plant with large, elongated leaves, featuring visible veins and detailed shading—an elegant design perfect for a veterinarian’s office or vet clinic, set against a plain white background. Black and white puppy sitting on vet examination table A simple illustration of light blue, branching seaweed or coral, featuring long, thin stems and sparse, delicate fronds on a white background—perfect décor for a veterinarian's office or vet-themed space.

How We Keep Your Pet
Safe Under Anesthesia

In nearly 23 years of practice, Dr. Lewis has maintained an exceptional anesthesia safety record. Before anesthesia, we run bloodwork to check how your pet's organs are working, because the liver and kidneys are what process the anesthetic drugs. We place an IV catheter in every patient, and every patient is intubated, meaning a breathing tube keeps their airway open and protected the whole time.

During the procedure, a technician's only job is to stay with your pet and watch the monitors: heart rate and rhythm on the ECG, blood pressure, oxygen levels, and the carbon dioxide they breathe out.

We tailor the anesthetic plan to your specific pet, too. A flat-faced breed like a Frenchie, a dog with a heart murmur, or a cat with early kidney disease each needs a different approach. If a heart concern needs a closer look first, we'll take chest X-rays or refer you to a cardiologist before we ever schedule the procedure.

Most importantly, nothing happens to your pet without a conversation with you first. You'll know the plan, you'll approve the estimate, and if anything changes during the procedure, we call you. You're never in the dark about your own pet. A large owl wearing glasses sits on a tree branch, reading a red book about becoming a veterinarian. Green leaves and little light blue birds surround the owl against a pale background. A blue silhouette illustration of a palm tree with detailed, textured leaves, set against a plain white background—perfect wall art for a veterinarian or vet clinic waiting room. Five wavy, white, leaf-like shapes with subtle line details are arranged vertically on a light gray background, creating an abstract design that could appeal to a veterinarian or vet with its natural, calming feel. Blue line drawing of a palm tree with multiple fan-shaped leaves extending from long stems, shown on a plain white background—perfect wall art for any veterinarian or vet clinic seeking a calming touch. Small black and white dog sitting on wooden floor Blue line art illustration of a spiky, bushy plant with long, slender leaves radiating outward in all directions, set against a light background—perfect for brightening up any vet or veterinarian's office.

The Advantage of Having Surgery at Your Regular Vet

The bigger advantage is what comes after. The team that operated on your pet is the same team that manages their recovery, refills their medications, and picks up the phone when you're worried about their incision. If a complication comes up, you're not explaining your pet's history to a stranger, you're calling the people who were in the room. Your pet's records, their medications, and the people who know them all stay in one place. When surgery happens at your regular vet, it changes the experience for both of you.

Say your dog swallows a sock, and a day later they're vomiting and miserable. You bring them in, and it turns out the sock is stuck and has to come out. We can take that on right here at Huntington Beach Pet Hospital, instead of sending you across town to start over with people who've never met your dog. The same is true for a pyometra, a life-threatening uterine infection in an unspayed female dog where every hour counts. That's a surgery we have a great deal of experience with, and we can do it here, fast, when waiting is the dangerous part.

 Curious Abyssinian cat looking upward indoors

  • Bladder stone removal: When stones form in the bladder and won’t pass on their own, we remove them surgically so your pet can urinate comfortably again.
  • Gastropexy: A preventive surgery that tacks the stomach in place to guard against bloat (GDV), the sudden, life-threatening twisting of the stomach that deep-chested breeds are prone to. It can be done on its own or at the same time as a spay or neuter.
  • Soft tissue surgeries: Eyelid surgeries, hernia repairs, abscesses, anal gland removal, and other soft tissue procedures. If your pet needs something not listed here, call us and we’ll tell you whether it’s something we handle.
We also perform routine spay and neuter surgeries. Whatever the procedure, you'll get a detailed estimate before anything is scheduled.

Surgeries We Perform at
Huntington Beach Pet Hospital

Most of the surgeries a dog or cat needs over a lifetime are ones Dr. Lewis performs right here. Some are planned, some come up suddenly, and many are ones owners assume require a specialty hospital.
  • Mass and lump removals: When you find a new lump on your pet, the questions are whether it needs to come off and what it is. Dr. Lewis removes the mass and sends it out for biopsy so you have a real answer, not a guess. For many of these, we use a local block to numb the area on top of general anesthesia.
  • Foreign body removal: When a pet swallows something they can’t pass, it can become an emergency quickly. We can locate it and remove it surgically.
  • Pyometra surgery: A life-threatening infection of the uterus in unspayed female dogs and cats. It needs surgery quickly, and it’s one we handle often.
 Light blue abstract wavy background shape Subtle, white line drawing of a leafy plant with long, slender leaves on a light gray background. The delicate illustration evokes a calming atmosphere, perfect for a veterinarian's office or vet clinic waiting area. Blue line drawing of a tropical plant with large, elongated leaves, featuring visible veins and detailed shading—an elegant design perfect for a veterinarian’s office or vet clinic, set against a plain white background. Chihuahua dog sitting on office desk wearing harness A simple illustration of light blue, branching seaweed or coral, featuring long, thin stems and sparse, delicate fronds on a white background—perfect décor for a veterinarian's office or vet-themed space.

Orthopedic Surgery With a
Board-Certified Surgeon

Some procedures call for a specialist. The most common is a torn knee ligament, the cruciate (CCL, the dog's version of a human ACL), along with kneecap (luxating patella) problems. For orthopedic surgeries like these, including TPLO, we bring a board-certified orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Zachery Smith, into our surgical suite to perform them.

Dr. Smith is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons who specializes in complex orthopedic and soft tissue surgery, and he operates at a specialty surgical hospital as well as here with us. Your dog gets a specialist's hands, and you never have to leave the practice that knows them.

We handle everything around the surgery: the workup beforehand, the anesthesia and monitoring, the recovery, the medications, and the recheck X-rays. If a question or a complication comes up afterward, you're calling us, the people who were there, not a referral center your dog visited once.

A torn cruciate repair like a TPLO typically runs $5,300 to $5,700 at Huntington Beach Pet Hospital, which includes extended pain relief, take-home medications, and the recheck exam and X-rays at eight weeks. Recovery is a structured eight-week return to activity, and we send you home with a comprehensive plan. Blue line art illustration of a tropical plant with long, detailed leaves, drawn with fine lines and shading on a white background—perfect décor for a veterinarian or vet’s office seeking a calming, botanical touch. Fluffy Ragdoll cat with striking blue eyes looking up Subtle, white line drawing of a leafy plant with long, slender leaves on a light gray background. The delicate illustration evokes a calming atmosphere, perfect for a veterinarian's office or vet clinic waiting area. A blue line drawing of a spiky-leaved plant with long, narrow leaves radiating outward, set against a light background—perfect wall art for any vet or veterinarian’s office.

What Surgery Costs

Cost is one of the biggest worries with surgery. Before any procedure, you'll get a detailed written estimate, and nothing happens until you've approved it. If anything changes mid-procedure, we call you before going further.

What a surgery costs depends on the procedure and what your pet needs. An orthopedic surgery like a TPLO runs higher, around $5,300 to $5,700, while a routine mass removal is far less. You can see our pricing online, and we're always glad to walk through an estimate with you before you decide anything.

We never want cost to be the reason a pet goes without care. If you'd like to spread payments out, we offer financing through Cherry. A large owl wearing glasses sits on a tree branch, reading a red book about becoming a veterinarian. Green leaves and little light blue birds surround the owl against a pale background. A blue silhouette illustration of a palm tree with detailed, textured leaves, set against a plain white background—perfect wall art for a veterinarian or vet clinic waiting room. Five wavy, white, leaf-like shapes with subtle line details are arranged vertically on a light gray background, creating an abstract design that could appeal to a veterinarian or vet with its natural, calming feel. Blue line drawing of a palm tree with multiple fan-shaped leaves extending from long stems, shown on a plain white background—perfect wall art for any veterinarian or vet clinic seeking a calming touch. Fluffy golden brown dog smiling with tongue out indoors Blue line art illustration of a spiky, bushy plant with long, slender leaves radiating outward in all directions, set against a light background—perfect for brightening up any vet or veterinarian's office.

After Surgery: What to Expect

Most pets go home the same day. We don't keep patients overnight, so your pet recovers where they're most comfortable: with you.

Before you leave, a technician walks you through a written discharge sheet. It covers what medications are going home, what each one is, when to start it, and the specific warning signs that mean you should call. Your pet is checked every few hours after surgery and goes home with pain medication, because comfort is part of healing, not an afterthought.

For most routine surgeries, your pet needs about two weeks of real rest, no running or jumping, while the incision heals. Orthopedic recovery is longer and more structured, usually eight weeks. And (even though we know it’s hard!) the cone must stay on: it takes only a moment for a pet to lick or chew an incision open, sometimes undoing the whole repair. A large owl wearing glasses sits on a tree branch, reading a red book about becoming a veterinarian. Green leaves and little light blue birds surround the owl against a pale background. A blue silhouette illustration of a palm tree with detailed, textured leaves, set against a plain white background—perfect wall art for a veterinarian or vet clinic waiting room. Five wavy, white, leaf-like shapes with subtle line details are arranged vertically on a light gray background, creating an abstract design that could appeal to a veterinarian or vet with its natural, calming feel. Blue line drawing of a palm tree with multiple fan-shaped leaves extending from long stems, shown on a plain white background—perfect wall art for any veterinarian or vet clinic seeking a calming touch. Shih Tzu dog wearing a clear medical cone collar Blue line art illustration of a spiky, bushy plant with long, slender leaves radiating outward in all directions, set against a light background—perfect for brightening up any vet or veterinarian's office.

Frequently Asked Questions

For a healthy pet, modern anesthesia is very safe. We run pre-surgical bloodwork, place an IV catheter in every patient, and assign a technician whose only job is to monitor your pet’s heart, blood pressure, oxygen, and breathing throughout the procedure. We also adjust the anesthetic plan for older pets and pets with heart or kidney concerns. In his 23 years of practice, Dr. Lewis has maintained an exceptional anesthesia safety record.

Wait at least a few hours after you get home, so your pet can rest and settle after the anesthesia and the car ride. If your pet needs to be fasted longer, your discharge sheet will say exactly when to start feeding again.

It’s normal for a pet not to have a bowel movement for 24 to 48 hours after surgery, because anesthetic drugs slow the intestinal tract down. If your pet is straining to go, or you see diarrhea or blood, call us. Some pets develop a stress-related colitis that we can help with.

Some pets are simply disoriented and groggy as the anesthesia wears off, and that can look like whining or restlessness. We send you home with pain medication for exactly this reason, so you can give it the same night if you need to. If the whining doesn’t settle or seems like real pain, call us.

Yes. A pet can lick or chew an incision open in minutes, sometimes undoing the surgery entirely, and the cone is what prevents it. It also keeps an excited pet from moving in ways that strain the incision. Leave it on until we tell you the site has healed.

If your pet is too wound up or anxious to settle and rest, let us know. We can send home a mild sedative or anti-anxiety medication to help them stay calm while the incision heals. Rest is part of the recovery, so it’s worth a call if they can’t settle.

For most routine surgeries, including spays, neuters, and mass removals, plan on about two weeks of no running or rough play. Orthopedic surgeries take longer, usually a structured eight-week return to activity. Your discharge plan will spell out the timeline for your pet’s specific surgery.

A little bruising and mild swelling are normal, and bruising can even show up a day or two later. What you should not see is heavy bleeding, severe bruising, or the incision opening up. If you see any of those, or you’re just not sure, call us and we’ll take a look.

At Huntington Beach Pet Hospital, yes. Dr. Lewis performs soft tissue and routine surgeries here, and for orthopedic procedures like cruciate (ACL/CCL) repair, we bring in a board-certified orthopedic surgeon to operate in our suite. Your dog gets specialist-level surgery and recovers with the team that already knows them, instead of being referred out.

It depends on the procedure. A routine surgery costs far less than a complex orthopedic one, for example, a TPLO runs about $5,300 to $5,700 here. You’ll always get a detailed written estimate before anything is scheduled, and you can see our pricing online. If cost is a concern, we offer financing through Cherry.

About Dr. Lewis and an
Independently Owned Practice

Dr. Lewis owns Huntington Beach Pet Hospital and has practiced veterinary medicine for nearly 23 years. He earned his veterinary degree at UC Davis, and he's the one setting how surgery is done here.

Because he owns the practice, no corporate office tells him which procedures to recommend, how much time to spend, or where to cut. The monitoring, the communication, and the care your pet gets are decisions he makes as the veterinarian and the owner. When your pet is under our care, the plan is the one Dr. Lewis would choose for his own. A large owl wearing glasses sits on a tree branch, reading a red book about becoming a veterinarian. Green leaves and little light blue birds surround the owl against a pale background. Subtle, white line drawing of a leafy plant with long, slender leaves on a light gray background. The delicate illustration evokes a calming atmosphere, perfect for a veterinarian's office or vet clinic waiting area. Blue line drawing of a tropical plant with large, elongated leaves, featuring visible veins and detailed shading—an elegant design perfect for a veterinarian’s office or vet clinic, set against a plain white background. Smiling male doctor in white coat headshot A simple illustration of light blue, branching seaweed or coral, featuring long, thin stems and sparse, delicate fronds on a white background—perfect décor for a veterinarian's office or vet-themed space.

Surgery for Dogs and Cats
Across Orange County

Huntington Beach Pet Hospital provides surgery for dogs and cats from Huntington Beach and the surrounding communities, including Fountain Valley, Costa Mesa, and Westminster.

If your pet needs surgery, or you’d like a second opinion before you decide, call us or request an appointment. We’ll walk you through what’s involved and what to expect, so you can make the call that’s right for your pet.