To MSTT and co.
Compliments to your vet for doing "dummy runs" first for the venomoid op.
Dummy runs should be done for all aspects of the operation, including such matters as pre and post op, sedation, restraint, fixing of head and mouth, etc.
Three comments on the above posts are factually incorrect and/or misleading.
Assuming the operation is done by cutting through the side of the head, no tissue (or very little) is bypassed to get to the venom gland, ALTHOUGH some may need to be moved or separated at the anterior and posterior ends.
The external procedure isn't recommended, for several reasons (not given here).
Via internal excision (as implied in the above posts), that is via the roof of the mouth, no particularly complicated tissue is cut, save for some muscle, which will heal with suturing (and probably without!).
Secondly the claim that the venom gland is hard to distinguish from other adjacent tissue is not so. This comment must have been made by a person with no knowledge of the said anatomy and tissues. It looks totally different and is really hard to confuse. The only vaguely possible point of confusion is perhaps muscle surrounding the gland and/or that at the posterior part, but frankly I am surprised at the remarks in earlier posts.
Thirdly the comments about differences in venom glands between species need to be tempered. In this regard, all snakes are from the same factory and in terms of family at least, all are essentially the same, save for size of the gland and to a limited extent shape and to a lesser extent positioning in the head. Having said this, they all fit the same profile and a person familiar with the venom gland structure of one species, would be effectively competant with all of that family as the variation is minor and around the same basic plan.
Finally and not relevant to posts in this thread (yet), the procedure is minor and not cruel when done properly and should as a routine be 100% incident free (as detailed in the paper link below).
Photos of the procedure on live (and still healthy) snakes are online at:
http://www.smuggled.com/VenArt1p.htm
Finally, it is recommended that no one trade in allegedly venomoid snakes due to the legal liability issues raised in the paper itself and elsewhere, including I think, this thread. The need for venomoid snakes is perhaps restricted to persons who show such snakes in confined places such as schools for educational purposes and similar.
In these sort of situations, venomoid surgery is in my view to the snake's long-term advantage for several reasons, including the alleviation of the need to forcibly restrain and harshly handle the snake, negating any day-to-day cruelty or torment the snakes may otherwise experience. These reasons formed the basis for a large number of operations, all of which were unqualified successes.
ALL THE BEST

First successful Venomoid surgery pics done on Australian Elapids

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