Lincoln Ave Cat & Dog Hospital

SOFT TISSUE SURGERY

Abdominal, urinary, airway, and organ surgery for dogs, cats, and exotic pets in Bergen County. Diagnostics and surgery in one hospital.

Soft Tissue Surgery

Soft tissue surgery covers everything outside of bone and joint: the abdomen, chest, airway, urinary tract and organs.

  • 35 years of surgical experience

  • Emergency and scheduled procedures

  • In-house diagnostics and surgery

  • Dogs, cats and exotic pets

  • No referral needed

  • Independent, doctor-owned hospital

Surgeries are performed by Dr. EL'Akbawy, who has spent three decades performing soft tissue procedures. Available treatment varies according to the species and condition.

★★★★★ 4.6 · 425+ Google Reviews

Does My Pet Need Soft Tissue Surgery?

Meet with a doctor to review the diagnosis, understand whether surgery is the right step, and know what the procedure involves before you decide.

  • Repeated vomiting, or a swallowed toy, sock, bone or string.

  • A firm, swollen belly with retching that brings nothing up.

  • Straining to urinate, or unable to pass urine at all.

  • A bulge at the navel, groin or beside the tail.

  • Loud snoring, noisy breathing, or overheating on short walks.

  • Need for a Second opinion.

In-House Diagnostics and Surgery

Start with an examination and understand the diagnosis before making a treatment decision.

Diagnosis and Surgery in One Hospital

An ACL diagnosis takes a hands-on orthopedic exam plus X-rays. Because we do both here, you are not sent to a second facility to find out what is wrong.

Digital X-rays

Ultrasound

Bloodwork

Echocardiography

Orthopedic surgery

Because diagnostics are performed onsite, some results may be available the same day.

Soft Tissue Procedures We Perform

The list below is not exhaustive. If your pet's condition is not named here, call and ask.

Abdominal Exploratory and Foreign Body Removal

When imaging can't answer the question.
An exploratory opens the abdomen so the organs can be examined directly

The most common reason is a swallowed object. Socks, corn cobs, toys and string all cause blockages, and string is the most dangerous because it can cut through intestine as it moves.

Bone plate stabilization

Intestinal resection when tissue is damaged

Biopsy of abnormal tissue

Diagnosis and treatment in one procedure

Hernia Repair

A hernia is tissue pushing through a gap that should be closed. Some are congenital and minor. Others are urgent, particularly when an organ becomes trapped.

We repair umbilical, inguinal, perineal and diaphragmatic hernias. Diaphragmatic hernias usually follow trauma such as a fall or a car accident, and are treated as emergencies because abdominal organs move into the chest and interfere with breathing.

Umbilical and inguinal repair

Perineal hernia repair

Diaphragmatic hernia repair after trauma

Assessment of trapped or compromised tissue

Gastropexy and Bloat (GDV)

It affects large, deep-chested dogs most often and it can be fatal without surgery. GDV is one of the few conditions where hours matter. The stomach fills with gas and twists, cutting off its own blood supply.

Emergency surgery untwists the stomach and tacks it to the abdominal wall so it cannot rotate again. The same tacking procedure can be performed preventively in at-risk breeds.

Emergency GDV surgery

Often combined with spay or neuter

Preventive gastropexy in at-risk breeds

Urinary Tract Surgery

A blocked male cat is an emergency. When urine cannot pass, pressure backs up into the kidneys and toxins build in the bloodstream within a day.

Urethrostomy creates a new, wider opening for urine to leave the body, and is used for pets with repeated blockages, scarring or trauma. We also remove bladder stones and repair urinary tract injuries.

Perineal urethrostomy

Bladder stone removal

Repair after trauma or obstruction

Prostate Surgery

Prostate disease shows up as straining, not as pain. Enlargement, cysts, abscesses and infection can all interfere with urination and defecation, and are most common in intact male dogs.

Treatment depends on the cause and may involve drainage, cyst removal or partial removal of the gland. Neutering is often part of the plan, since much prostate enlargement is hormone-driven.

Drainage of prostatic cysts and abscesses

Partial or complete prostatectomy

Often combined with neutering

Organ and Chest Surgery

Removal of an organ that has become the problem.

Splenectomy for a torsion, rupture or bleeding spleen.
Nephrectomy when one kidney is severely diseased or damaged. Thoracotomy opens the chest to reach the lungs, heart or surrounding structures when a condition cannot be treated any other way.

Splenectomy

Nephrectomy

Adrenalectomy

Thyroidectomy

Thoracotomy

Airway and Brachycephalic Surgery

Snoring in a flat-faced dog is not normal. Bulldogs, Frenchies, Pugs, Boston Terriers, Shih Tzus and Persian cats are born with airways too narrow for the air they need, which is why they overheat, tire quickly and breathe noisily even at rest.

Surgery widens the nostrils, shortens an overlong soft palate, and removes tissue that has been pulled into the airway. Correcting it earlier tends to give better results, because chronic strain progressively collapses the larynx over time.

Widening of narrowed nostrils

Shortening of an elongated soft palate

Removal of everted laryngeal saccules

Airway assessment before elective anesthesia

Middle Ear Surgery

Chronic ear disease that won't resolve is often deeper than the ear canal.

Inflammatory polyps growing from the middle ear are a common cause in young cats, producing head shaking, discharge, head tilt or a change in balance. Ventral bulla osteotomy opens the middle ear chamber to remove the polyp at its base, which is what prevents it from returning.

Ventral bulla osteotomy

Inflammatory polyp removal

Treatment of chronic middle ear infection

Common in cats, seen in dogs as well

FINANCING OPTIONS WE WORK WITH

Trusted by Fairlawn Pet Parents

Read how Dr. El-Akbawy and our dedicated team have transformed the lives of pets across Bergen County.

Proud Members & Accreditations

AAHA Accredited

AVMA Member

NJVMA

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Lincoln Ave Cat & Dog Hospital

Family-owned and independently operated on Lincoln Avenue since 1984.

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Serving Fair Lawn, NJ and Bergen county since 1984.