Questions about anesthesia
Do you perform anesthesia safety testing for my pet prior to anesthesia?
- Preanesthetic bloodwork is typically recommended for most animals that are undergoing anesthesia. Although, preanesthetic bloodwork is required for pets 7 years of age and older. This bloodwork allows your veterinarian to assess your pet’s overall health, ensuring that your pet is a good candidate for anesthesia. If preanesthetic bloodwork shows any abnormalities, these abnormalities can be addressed by making any necessary adjustments to your pet’s treatment plan.
- Pre-surgical bloodwork typically consists of two different blood tests. The first test is called a Complete Blood Count (CBC). This basic blood test shows us the levels of red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets, which can be helpful in diagnosing anemia (low red blood cells), systemic infections, and potential blood clotting deficiencies.
The second blood test usually performed before surgery is called a Chemistry, which will show the veterinarian how the kidneys and the liver are working. These organs especially do not usually start to show noticeable symptoms of disease on the outside until quite advanced, and the kidneys and the liver play a huge part in how the body metabolizes all of the sedative/anesthetic medications the animal will be given before and during surgery. Because of this, it is very important for us to know there are no kidney or liver issues before we put your pet under anesthesia, especially if they are older.
Bloodwork is never harmful to your animal and always comes recommended to ensure a safe anesthesia and happy recovery from surgery for your pet. With this better understanding of why we recommend testing the blood before anesthesia, we trust that you will be able to make the right decision for your cat or dog next time you are given the option.
- Monitoring by Licensed Veterinary Technicians and electronic monitoring devices help ensure your pet’s safety during the anesthetic procedure. While your pet is under anesthesia, blood oxygen levels, respiratory rate, heart rate, and body temperature are continually supervised. An intravenous (IV) catheter is placed to provide IV access for additional drugs if they are needed. IV fluids are also administered throughout the procedure to help maintain your pet’s blood pressure and hydration. Your pet will be kept warm with warm air devices and blankets during and after procedure. Your veterinarian or veterinary technician will be happy to discuss every step of the process with you.
- We provide pre-surgical pain management to all patients prior to surgical or dental procedures. In certain procedures we also use local nerve blocks. They reduce the need for general anesthetic and improve the safety of the procedure. Take home pain medication is only optional for some procedures. Pain control helps speed the healing process and is highly recommended by your veterinarians. We recommend laser therapy for post-surgical reduction of inflammation and pain. Laser Therapy is effective in treating acute pain, chronic conditions, arthritis, and post-operative pain.