Soft Tissue and Oncologic Surgery Service at NC State Terry Center Offers Advanced Care
The Soft Tissue and Oncologic Surgery Service at NC State University’s Randall B. Terry, Jr. Companion Animal Veterinary Medical Center cares for small animal patients with a variety of “soft-tissue” diseases and conditions.
Much of the case-load centers around oncologic (cancer) surgery, but clinicians also have expertise in urogenital, head and neck, cardiothoracic, gastrointestinal, plastic, and respiratory surgery as well as pre- and post-operative pain management. Offerings also include minimally invasive laparoscopic and thoracoscopic surgery, feline renal transplantation, reconstructive and laser surgery.
The Surgery Service works closely with the other specialists within the Terry Center, including radiologists, oncologists, internal medicine, and critical care specialists. For example, the surgical management of cancer requires a close working relationship between oncologic and surgical specialists. Individualized treatment plans for cancer patients include pre- or post-operative radiation therapy and/ or chemotherapy when appropriate.
Many surgery patients require 24-hour post-operative monitoring due to the seriousness of their condition, and the Surgery Service coordinates patient care with specialists in the greatly expanded Critical Care Department with its advanced Intensive Care Unit. This integrated approach to treating complex surgical problems and recovery is a key to supporting successful outcomes.
The move from the original Veterinary Teaching Hospital to the new Terry Center has greatly expanded surgery facilities and the Service now has 10 surgery suites, doubling the number of operating rooms previously available.
The state of the science diagnostic imaging capabilities within the Terry Center will further allow clinicians to offer enhanced pre-, intra-, and post-operative evaluation of patients. These include access to three dimensional-CT reconstructions of tumors, and intraoperative ultrasonography and fluoroscopy for treating a variety of diseases.
