Frequently Asked Questions

Licensed veterinary practices within the service area. New partner hospitals are welcome. Submit an inquiry to begin the introduction. Pet parents can contact VSO to inquire about surgery at their primary care hospital or to utilize Dr. Danova within the network of referring hospitals.

Your team submits a brief case overview through the contact form. After records and diagnostics are reviewed together, surgery is scheduled at your hospital on a mutually agreed date or a day which is dedicated to your hospital.

Pre-op diagnostic recommendations depend on the procedure and patient. Specific requirements are confirmed during case review so your team can prepare in advance.

Absolutely. New partnerships are always welcome. Simply submit a case inquiry or reach out via phone/email. Dr. Danova will schedule a brief introductory call to discuss your facility’s capabilities, review your surgical pack inventory, and answer any questions before your first surgical date. There is no obligation to book immediately.

While Dr. Danova’s primary coverage zone is Northeastern Pennsylvania, she accommodates hospitals just outside this radius for larger surgical blocks or highly specialized cases. Contact us with your hospital’s location—we will evaluate travel feasibility and scheduling flexibility on a case-by-case basis.

Dr. Danova arrives with her own specialized sterile instruments.

Your hospital provides: preoperative diagnostics such as bloodwork and radiographs, the anesthesia machine and circuit, multiparameter monitoring equipment (ECG, SpO₂, EtCO₂, blood pressure), pre- and postoperative analgesia and medications, and postoperative diagnostics as required.

Your hospital’s veterinary nurse or technician is responsible for induction, anesthetic monitoring, and recovery. Dr. Danova works closely with your monitoring nurse throughout the procedure—communicating changes in surgical phases (e.g., when to adjust plane of anesthesia for bone drilling or traction). She does not bring her own anesthetist; she trusts and integrates with your existing team.

At a minimum, we require:

• One dedicated veterinary nurse/technician to continuously monitor anesthesia (cannot be pulled away for other appointments).

• One additional staff member to assist with patient positioning, surgical prep, and instrument handling during the procedure (can be a second nurse, an assistant, or a supervising veterinarian).
  If your hospital is short-staffed on a particular day, we can discuss adjusting the procedure schedule or deferring to a better date. Patient safety is never compromised for convenience.

Transparency and safety are our guiding principles.

If pre-operative exam or repeat imaging reveals that surgery is no longer in the patient’s best interest, Dr. Danova will cancel the procedure and consult with your team on medical management alternatives. No surgery is performed unless everyone agrees it remains the right choice.

Written post-op instructions and a case summary are provided to the referring team. Recheck visits and ongoing care stay with the referring hospital.

The referring veterinarian manages all primary client communication — this preserves continuity of trust and keeps the client relationship squarely within your practice. Dr. Danova provides you with a detailed surgical report (including intra-operative photos and margin descriptions) that you can share with the owner. She routes information through your primary care team whenever possible, but she’s always available to speak directly with the pet parent if the situation calls for it.

Veterinary Surgical Options invoices the referring practice directly. Your hospital collects payment from the client according to your own fee structure. Your invoicing structure with pet parents is private and separate from Veterinary Surgical Options.

We understand that emergencies and client cancellations happen. We ask for as much advance notice as possible, especially as travel is often involved and we may need to release the surgical block to another hospital. Last-minute cancellations due to acute patient deterioration are always accommodated.

Veterinary Surgical Options is a scheduled referral service and does not provide emergency or after-hours coverage. Urgent post-op concerns should be directed to the referring hospital or a local emergency hospital.

If an emergency arises, please don’t hesitate to contact Dr. Danova directly as well. When possible, she directs emergency referrals to hospitals within her network, and those partnerships work both ways: hospitals that receive referrals from her can expect the same consideration in return.

For non-urgent follow-up questions during business hours, referring veterinarians are welcome to call or email Dr. Danova directly. She returns all clinical inquiries within the same business day.

No. We work with hospitals of all sizes—from busy multi-doctor practices that schedule weekly blocks to single-doctor hospitals that refer one case every few months. Every partnership is welcome, and every case is evaluated on its own medical merit.

Yes. For hospitals with multiple surgical candidates, Dr. Danova can schedule a half-day or full-day block to perform several procedures back-to-back, depending on case complexity. This maximizes efficiency and minimizes travel logistics for both teams.