Why do I need to fast my pet before an anesthetic procedure?
Anesthesia makes most animals, including people, nauseated. During sedation or anesthesia, the swallow reflex in the throat is less responsive, and if the patient vomits, he or she is at risk of aspirating, or breathing in, some of the vomited material. Any foreign substance that has been aspirated into the lungs has a high risk of causing an infection that can lead to aspiration pneumonia, a very serious and sometimes fatal condition.
Why should I elect pre-operative bloodwork for my pet?
Bloodwork is a great way of giving the doctor extra information that he/she could not see on a physical exam. It is considered an “internal exam”, as it gives us a look into the function of the different organs in the body. This is important information for an anesthetic procedure, because the doctor needs to know that your pet’s body can tolerate the drugs that it will be receiving.
The pre-anesthetic chemistry panel includes:
- ALKP – an indicator of liver function
- ALT – an indicator of liver function
- BUN – an indicator of kidney function
- Creatinine – an indicator of kidney function
- Glucose – a measure of the blood sugar
- Total Protein – an indicator of proper hydration
The complete blood count includes:
- White blood cell count & differential – an indicator of the presence of infection or inflammation
- Red blood cell count – an indicator of anemia
- Platelet count – an assessment of patient’s ability to form blood clots
Why should my pet be on IV fluids while under anesthesia?
Intravenous (IV) fluids can be important in several ways during an anesthetic procedure. First, your pet has been fasted to provide an empty stomach for the procedure. This will cause a mild dehydration & slight imbalance of body systems, which can easily be restored with IV fluids. While under anesthesia, a patient’s blood pressure will drop slightly below normal. To prevent the pressures from dropping into a dangerous range, IV fluids are given to add volume to the blood, keeping the pressures higher, which means good blood circulation. And after your pet wakes up from anesthesia, he or she is maintained on IV fluids. This causes the body to remove fluids from the system at a faster rate (in the form of producing urine), and toxins, such as the anesthetic drugs, are removed more quickly. This helps your pet to recover in a timely manner.
What happens to my pet throughout the course of a day at the hospital?
Once he or she has been admitted to AVAH, the doctor will perform an exam to evaluate the health of your pet. The exam, along with any bloodwork that may have been run, will help the doctor to decide which drugs will be most appropriate for the best care of your pet. About 30 minutes before anesthesia, your pet will be given an injection that will calm your pet and begin the analgesic (pain management) process.
Once the pre-surgical sedation has set in, your pet will receive an IV catheter (if applicable) in a leg vein, and will be induced into anesthesia either with an IV injectable drug or with a gas anesthesia. Once asleep, your pet will be intubated (a breathing tube is inserted into the throat), and will be maintained on the inhalant anesthetic sevoflurane.
Your pet is then prepared for his or her procedure while being carefully monitored by a trained technician. Your pet will be hooked up to monitoring devices that read ECG (electrocardiogram), heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, and core body temperature. Patients, if on IV fluids, will have fluid pumps regulating their fluid rates, and your pet’s temperature will be maintained by use of a circulating warm water blanket and a Bair Hugger- a device that surrounds the patient with a blanket of warm air. The procedure for which your pet has been admitted is then performed in a timely manner, using the most sterile technique appropriate for the procedure.
Patients are recovered in our ICU by a technician when the procedure is finished. Your pet will be watched very closely until awake and extubated (the breathing tube is removed), and vital signs such as heart rate, respiration rate, and temperature are taken and recorded. When the patient appears stable and can be left alone to rest, the recovering technician will call you to give you progress report and arrange a discharge appointment time. The patient will spend a minimum of four hours in ICU after an anesthetic procedure under the watchful eye of doctors and technicians, with vital signs taken each hour. If all vital signs are normal and the pet appears bright and alert, he/she will be moved to our medical ward before being discharged and sent home with you.
What surgical facilities does Arboretum View Animal Hospital have?
What do I need to do the day of surgery?
Please see our page on Admitting and Picking Up Your Pet From Surgery.
