The prospect of taking a dog or cat in for surgery or for dental care is frightening for many pet owners, primarily because these procedures require anesthesia. Most pet owners recognize that anesthesia for their dog or cat is not without risk. However, in most cases, the risk associated with anesthesia is relatively small.
The keys to safe anesthesia for your pet are proper planning of the procedure and close monitoring during and after the procedure. No anesthetic episode is completely without risk and complications can and do occur. However, with the proper precautions, the threat of complications can be minimized and complications, when they do occur, can be detected and treated early and aggressively.
Proper Planning for Anesthesia Prior to Induction and Surgery for Your Pet
Every dog and cat is different and anesthetic protocols should be varied to meet the needs of the individual. For healthy dogs and cats, the anesthetic protocol may be quite straight-forward. However, for pets that have health issues, drugs that impact those health issues as little as possible must be chosen.
It is important that your veterinarian know as much as possible about your dog or cat before anesthesia. If your pet has been previously diagnosed with disease, is on any medications or is not acting himself at present, your veterinarian needs to be informed.
Pre-surgical blood screening is controversial but many veterinarians do recommend it prior to anesthesia. Check with your veterinarian prior to your pet's scheduled procedure and find out whether blood screening will be performed and why or why not.
Regardless of whether pre-surgical blood screening is performed, every pet undergoing anesthesia should receive a thorough physical examination prior to the anesthesia to locate any physical abnormalities that could complicate the anesthesia.
Anesthetic Monitoring of Your Dog or Cat During and After Surgery
Your pet needs to monitored closely not only during the surgical procedure itself but afterwards as well. Your dog or cat should be monitored until he is no longer under the effects of the anesthesia and is out of danger.
Typical parameters monitored during anesthesia include:
- respiratory rate
- heart rate
- body temperature
- pulse oximetry (measures the amount of oxygen present in the blood)
- end-tidal carbon dioxide (measures the amount of carbon dioxide being breathed out)
- electrocardiogram (EKG, ECG)
- blood pressure
In most cases, your dog or cat should have an endotracheal tube (a tube that fits into your pet's trachea or major airway) in place. Gas anesthetic agents are delivered to your pet's lungs through this tube and, in case of emergency, oxygen can also be administered through the tube.
An intravenous catheter may also be placed in one of your pet's legs and is often placed as a precaution. In case of emergency, this catheter can be used to provide access to your dog or cat's vein for the administration of life-saving drugs. It is also frequently used to give your pet fluids during the anesthesia period.
Pain Medications, Anesthesia and Surgery for Dogs and Cats
Though anesthesia itself is not painful, surgery is. Any pet that is undergoing surgery should be treated with appropriate medications to relieve pain. These medications should be given prior to surgery and should be continued during and after the surgical procedure. Pain medication not only keeps your dog or cat more comfortable but it also helps speed your pet's recovery and helps make anesthesia smoother for your pet.
If your dog or cat is to undergo anesthesia, you should make certain your veterinarian and his staff are prepared to properly plan and monitor your pet's progress. You should also make sure your veterinarian is planning on administering pain medication for your pet to help his recovery from surgery.
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