Advanced Veterinary Surgery in Tampa, FL

When your beloved pet requires surgery, you want an experienced, compassionate team that prioritizes safety without compromising on personalized care. Paws Bay Animal Hospital is a privately owned, independent practice providing advanced soft-tissue, oral, and general veterinary surgeries.

Located on Race Track Road, we proudly offer a high-quality, community-focused alternative to crowded corporate hospitals and high-cost emergency trauma centers. We serve families across Westchase, Upper Tampa Bay, Oldsmar, and the surrounding Tampa regions.

Dr. Highbrown has years of experience performing a wide range of surgical procedures and continues to expand her surgical expertise through ongoing continuing education.

We place a strong emphasis on:

  • Individualized anesthetic protocols

  • Thorough pre-anesthetic assessment

  • Continuous anesthetic monitoring

  • Pain management before, during, and after surgery

Every surgical plan is tailored to the specific patient, procedure, and medical needs, ensuring the highest standard of safety and care.

Cat under anesthesia preparing for his dental procedure at Paws Bay Animal Hospital Oldsmar Tampa, FL.

Our Surgical Capabilities & Procedures

Dr. Heather Highbrown and our skilled veterinary team are equipped to handle a wide range of procedures, from routine preventative operations to complex soft-tissue reconstructions:

  • Cystotomy & Bladder Stone Removal: Precise surgical entry into the urinary bladder to safely remove painful stones (uroliths), repair damaged tissues, or collect necessary biopsies.
  • Advanced Soft-Tissue Surgery: Specialized internal procedures including exploratory laparotomies, intestinal blockage removals (enterotomies), splenectomies, hernia repairs, and prophylactic gastropexy to prevent life-threatening bloat.
  • Ophthalmic (Eye) Surgery: Corrective and therapeutic procedures including cherry eye repair, eyelid mass removals, entropion correction, and enucleations.
  • Reconstructive & Wound Care: Expert management of severe lacerations, deep tissue wounds, mass removals, and necessary limb, tail, or toe amputations.
  • Comprehensive Oral & Dental Surgery: Advanced tooth extractions, oral mass removals, and oronasal fistula repairs to restore your pet’s comfort.
  • Exotic Pet Surgery: Dedicated, specialized surgical care tailored specifically for small mammals, including rabbits and rats.

Explore our comprehensive list of surgical procedures (click here)
  • Ovariohysterectomy (spay)
  • C-section +/- spay
  • Castration (neuter)
  • Scrotal ablation
  • Vulvoplasty
  • Umbilical hernia
  • Perineal hernia repair
  • Gastropexy prophylactic
  • Mass removals
  • Ear canal resection
  • Anal gland removal
  • Splenectomy
  • Full front limb amputation
  • Rear limb full or mid femoral amputation
  • Toe amputation, dewclaw removals
  • Tail amputation
  • Hematoma repair
  • Wound repair
  • Stenotic nares
  • Thyroidectomy
  • Select FHO procedures
  • Cystotomy
  • Urethral prolapse repair
  • Eye surgery:
    • enucleation
    • eye lid mass removal
    • keratotomy
    • cherry eye repair
    • entropian repair
    • proptosis repair
  • Oral procedures:
    • dental cleaning/radiographs as well as extractions
    • epulis or oral mass removal
    • oronasal fistula repairs
    • nasopharyngeal polyp removal
  • Perineal urethrostomy (feline)
  • Prescrotal urethrostomy (canine), urethrotomy
  • Exploratory procedure
  • Gastrotomy, enterotomy, resection/anastomosis
  • Rabbit spay/neuter or mass removal
  • Rat spay/neuter or mass removal

Uncompromising Patient Safety & Comfort

We treat every patient like a member of our own family. Our modern surgical suite is built around strict safety protocols designed to minimize risk and maximize comfort.

Individualized Anesthetic Plans

No two pets are alike. We perform pre-surgical bloodwork to evaluate internal organ function and customize an anesthetic protocol tailored strictly to your pet’s age, breed, and current health status.

Continuous Vital Sign Monitoring

Throughout the entire procedure, a dedicated veterinary technician continuously tracks your pet’s vitals—including heart rate, blood oxygen levels, blood pressure, and core body temperature.

Accelerated Post-Operative Laser Therapy

To fast-track your pet's recovery, we treat many surgical incisions with post-operative companion laser therapy. This non-invasive, painless treatment uses targeted light energy to reduce swelling, alleviate pain, and stimulate cellular healing.

Transparent Pricing & Flexible Financing

We believe that high-quality surgical care should be accessible. Because we operate independently, we are proud to offer our advanced surgical services at a fraction of the cost found at emergency clinics or specialty referral centers.

To help you manage unexpected veterinary costs, we accept flexible payment alternatives including CareCredit, Cherry and Scratchpay, allowing you to focus entirely on your pet's recovery.

Learn more about financing→ 

Schedule a Surgical Consultation Today

If your pet has been diagnosed with a condition requiring surgery, or if you would like a transparent second opinion on a procedure, our team is here to help.

Call us today at (813) 551-1377 or visit us in the Publix Plaza at 8983 Race Track Rd, Tampa, FL 33635 to schedule a pre-surgical exam.

Please bring or email any recent X-rays, bloodwork, or medical records from your primary clinic so we can expedite your estimate.

Frequently asked questions about Pet Surgery

Is anesthesia safe for my pet?

Modern veterinary anesthesia is very safe. We perform physical examinations, pre-anesthetic blood work and necessary diagnostics, individualized anesthetic planning, monitoring, and pain management to help maximize safety.

Does my pet need bloodwork before surgery?

Pre-anesthetic bloodwork helps identify underlying health concerns and improves anesthetic safety. It may alert us that anesthesia would not be safe for your pet or it will help guide us deciding the best anesthetic protocol based on your pet's overall health.

What should I feed my pet after surgery?

Many pets may get diarrhea or upset stomachs following anesthesia due to the stress on their body and the effects of the drugs on the GI tract. In general, it is best to offer small meals at first and feed a bland diet as suggested by your veterinarian until your pet has a normal bowel movement and is eating and drinking normally.

What should I expect after surgery?

While some pets recovery quickly from anesthesia and return to their normal activity within 24 hours, some are more sensitive to the effects of anesthesia. They may be whiney, very tired, anxious, vocal, or unstable for some time including the night after their procedure. If your pet already has high anxiety, you may ask your vet if it would be appropriate to get anxiety medication for your pet to help them relax the night following anesthesia.

Does my pet need blood work before surgery?

Pre-anesthetic bloodwork helps identify underlying health concerns and improves anesthetic safety. It may alert us that anesthesia would not be safe for your pet or it will help guide us deciding the best anesthetic protocol based on your pet's overall health.

What pain control will my pet receive?

Your pet will receive pain control taylored to the procedure they are having done. Most will receive pain control in their anesthetic medications, during surgery as well as pain medication to go home. We also use local pain blocks when indicated and laser therapy immediately following many procedures to help rapidly decrease inflammation and pain.

What are my financing options for my pet's surgery?

At Paws Bay Animal Hospital, we try to work with our client's budget as much as possible. We offer many surgery options at a fraction of the cost of the emergency and specialty hospitals while still providing individualized care and attention for each pet.

We know you want to focus on your pet's wellbeing and finances can be an added stress for large expenses like surgery. We offer a variety of payment plans that you can apply for from our website from home or we can help you navigate your options if you need guidance. Visit our fincance page under resources for more information.

Learn more about financing 

Paws Bay Animal Hospital

Serving Oldsmar • Westchase • Town ‘n’ Country • Citrus Park • Upper Tampa Bay • and more...

Address

8983 Racetrack Rd

33635 Tampa

(Next to Publix)

Opening Hours

Mon, Wed, Fri: 8:30am - 6pm

Thurs: 9am-4pm