Anaesthesia - Factsheet

For many people the idea that their pet requires a general anaesthetic causes great worry, and is probably the main reason that they prefer not to have a procedure carried out.

Historically, there was indeed a risk when agents like ether or chloroform were used, but these are not available today, and things have improved considerably.

Additionally, in the last few years there has been the option to use human drugs in our patients rather than specific veterinary ones, and at this Practice we have decided to employ these because they are the safest available.

CHECK LIST FOR SAFE ANAESTHESIA

Pre-anaesthetic examination to check heart and lungs
Sedative given to dogs with owner present.
Analgesics (pain-killers) given before surgery
Short acting injection (propofol) to induce anaesthesia
All anaesthetised patients are given oxygen by intubation
Isoflurane is used for maintaining anaesthetic, giving breath-by-breath control
One nurse looks after the patient for the whole day
Advanced monitoring and full recording of every anaesthetic:
ECG - to check the heart
Oxygen saturation in the blood
Carbon dioxide levels in the lungs
Blood Pressure monitoring
Patients are given further analgesics throughout the day as needed
On-site laboratory for pre-anaesthetic tests if needed
Intravenous drips available if needed

We work to strict rules when we are performing anaesthesia. We consider each patient that has been trusted to our care should be looked after to the highest level, and with a personal manner. This extends to our clients and we will do everything possible to allay any fears that you might have, and to help you through the day too.

We have a general rule that all cats aged 12 years or more, and dogs aged 10 years or more, should be given an intravenous drip during the procedure, and we strongly advise clients to allow us to perform simple pre-anaesthetic blood tests to make sure that we know exactly how fit our patient is. These procedures, and our insistence on using the particular anaesthetic agents that we do, admittedly add to the cost, but we hope that you will be understanding enough to appreciate their importance.

We can never say that there is no risk with an anaesthetic, but we will promise to minimise the risk by taking extremely good care of every patient, and working to a very high standard at all times.