Located in the SAVS Facility
VISIT PREPARATIONS
It is our goal to ensure your time at STVO is handled with respect and care and with enough time to answer your questions and ease any anxiety around your pets condition. Below is an overview of instructions and exam process to help prepare you for your visit:
BEFORE YOUR VISIT
- Have your general veterinarian email your pet’s medical records and lab results to reception.stvopets@gmail.com prior to your scheduled appointment. Records may also be faxed to 210.998.6830.
- Do not feed your pet any type of food or snacks prior to your appointment. Providing water is fine.
- Do not fast diabetic animals.
- Bring all medications your pet is currently receiving. This is very important.
- Arrive 15-minutes early if you are a new client to allow time to fill out the forms. To help save time, you may print and fill out the required New Patient Forms in advance by clicking on the links below:
DURING YOUR VISIT
- We do our best to minimize wait times. Most clients appreciate that we are usually on schedule for the majority of their appointments. Please understand that there may be times when several emergencies are referred over by veterinarians for immediate care, which could interrupt our scheduled appointments.
- Depending on the size of your pet, the patient will be examined on the floor or an examination table. Our trained technicians will assist with collecting the patient history, reviewing medications your pet may be receiving, and performing basic diagnostic testing such as the Schirmer tear testing, fluorescein staining and intraocular pressure measurement.
- We encourage gentle patient restraint and for clients to sit and relax during the examination. This seems to ease their pets worries as well. If the doctor, technician, or owner feel that the examination may result in significant anxiety and/or fear related or protective aggression, a muzzle may be applied for everyone’s safety. If the patient is very painful or aggressive, sedation may be required for thorough, painless and safe examination.
- We insist that every patient have a full ocular examination, regardless of the primary concern or problem area. This ensures that no seemingly minor issue is overlooked. We pride ourselves on being thorough and competent and will never rush you out of an examination room. We do not always dilate your pet’s pupils, especially if glaucoma is of concern, but if we do, the pupils return to normal size within 3 to 4 hours.
- We will thoroughly explain the medical diagnosis and offer several medical and/or surgical treatment options for conditions. We will provide you with a financial estimate for those options.
- Our goals are to maintain or improve vision whenever possible and alleviate the discomfort associated with painful or chronic conditions. We encourage and empower our clients to be part of the plan for ocular and visual rehabilitation. We will guide clients as to what we feel are the best options and plans, but will never pressure clients to make decisions they are not comfortable with. We realize that not all clients are able to afford the most advanced procedures available to restore vision and we can work together within a budget to best care for your loved ones. We have handouts for clients for most medical conditions explaining what to expect as far as diagnostic plans, treatment plans and follow up appointments so their is continuity with family members that may not have been present for the examination, but may be part of the patients eye care needs.
- We will help you schedule any needed procedures at the end of the appointment. Some procedures can be done the same day and others may have to wait 24-48 hours until the next available surgical appointment slot. We cannot guarantee same day surgery, especially for elective procedures. Surgeries are scheduled on a first come basis, with true ocular emergencies taking precedence. Surgical procedures that involve penetration inside the eye such as cataract, lens luxation, or glaucoma surgery, as well as the parotid duct transposition and larger eyelid reconstructions will stay overnight in the main hospital, where patients are monitored 24 hours daily. Other procedures can typically go home the same day unless the patient has other health risk factors that need to be monitored for safety.
AFTER YOUR VISIT
- You will be provided discharge instructions including a medical treatment schedule if necessary. We will alert you to when and if we need to see your pet back for a re-check examination. We also will provide printed handouts that summarize your pets eye condition.
- If you feel your pet is having an eye emergency, please call our office at 210.962.5388 right away. If after hours, leave a message with the emergency clinic and they will page an STVO technician to call you right back.
FOR OUR OUT OF TOWN CLIENTS...
If your pet needs eye surgery and is staying overnight at the clinic, below is a list of some near-by pet-friendly hotels for your convenience.
Aloft San Antonio UTSA Area
5630 UTSA Boulevard,
San Antonio, TX 78249
(210) 561-4488
Drury Inn & Suites San Antonio Near La Cantera Pkwy
15806 I-10,
San Antonio, TX 78249
(210) 696-0800
Hampton Inn & Suites San Antonio Northwest/Medical Center
11426 I-10,
San Antonio, TX 78230
(210) 697-8900
TownePlace Suites by Marriott San Antonio Northwest
5014 Prue Rd,
San Antonio, TX 78240
(210) 694-5100
Hyatt Place San Antonio-Northwest/Medical Center
4303 Hyatt Pl Dr,
San Antonio, TX 78230
(210) 561-0099
The Westin San Antonio North
9821 Colonnade Blvd,
San Antonio, TX 78230
(210) 691-8888
