Veterinary surgery is the branch of practice that treats disease and injury through operative procedures. In Singapore, it spans routine work such as spays and neuters to highly specialised orthopaedic and soft-tissue procedures that require years of additional training.
Both veterinary surgeons and vets with a clinical focus in veterinary surgery perform procedures across three broad areas. Soft-tissue surgery covers the abdomen, chest, skin, and urinary tract, and ranges from tumour removal to complex reconstructive work.
Orthopaedic surgery covers bones and joints, including fracture repair, cruciate ligament surgery, and hip and elbow procedures.
General surgery covers the routine procedures that form the backbone of daily practice.
Tools of the trade include advanced imaging, specialised surgical instrumentation, and, for complex cases, arthroscopy and minimally invasive techniques.
While most general-practice vets are trained to perform routine surgery, a surgery-focused vet is the practitioner who takes on complex cases, particularly those involving orthopaedics, the chest cavity, or extensive reconstruction.
Not every procedure requires a referral surgeon, but complex cases often do. For pet owners facing orthopaedic surgery, major abdominal procedures, or any operation outside the range of a general practice, asking about the surgeon's experience with that specific procedure is worth doing.
