FAQ’s
Our routine hours of operation are between 8:00AM and 6:00 PM, Monday through Friday. We see appointments Monday through Thursday, and emergencies only on Friday.
Please allow 1.5 to 2 hours for the initial consultation. Please withhold food on the morning of the visit in case lab work or sedation is needed.
Surgery can usually be scheduled for the day following the consultation, or prescheduled for a date in the future when the surgeon is operating.
Patients arriving the day of surgery need to be admitted between 7:30 & 8:00 am. Pets should not be fed the night before surgery after 8:00 pm. Water should be removed the following morning. Patients can often be hospitalized the day before surgery for convenience.
Chesapeake Veterinary Surgical Specialists will not be responsible for leashes, collars, blankets and toys left with the patient. We will do our best to return these items, but it cannot be guaranteed.
Telephone updates on current patients are available between the hours of 9am and 6pm.
Owner visits are permitted on a case-by-case basis with prior doctor approval. Please phone ahead to arrange a visitation time, and to ensure exam room availability. Visitation on the day of surgery is not allowed in order to provide the best care and comfort for the patient.
An emergency clinic veterinarian is on duty to monitor Chesapeake Veterinary Surgical Specialists’s patients between the hours of 6pm and 8am, Monday through Thursday, and on the weekends between the hours of 6pm Friday to 8am Monday. The emergency clinics at each location are separately owned and operated businesses, that provide overnight care for patients of our practice. To contact the emergency clinic for overnight updates, please call AAVEC in Annapolis and Pet+E.R. in Hunt Valley or Columbia.
Patient discharges are dependent on your pet’s recovery from surgery and are scheduled by appointment with their surgeon. These appointments are offered primarily in the afternoons Monday through Friday, and between 9am and 11 am on the weekends. Discharge times will vary depending on our surgery schedule.
We recommend that follow-up appointments be scheduled well in advance. Sedation is often required for x-rays; therefore, please do not feed your pet after 8pm the night before the appointment. The initial estimate for surgery does not include follow-up care, such as bandage changes, x-rays, lab work, additional medications that may be needed or implant removal.
