Pet Anesthesia, do not be afraid

When I mention anesthesia to some clients, I see them tense with trepidation. But anesthesia does not have be a scary word in veterinary medicine. Drugs and monitoring equipment keep the procedure as safe as possible. Learning what is involved in your pet needs to be anesthetized will help allay your fears.

Let's start with the basics. We use anesthesia to describe sedation or general anesthesia. Sedation means we inject a drug into a vein or muscle giving 5 to 15 minutes of restraint and relaxation. It may be used of your pet is nervous about grooming or other simple procedures. General anesthesia usually involves pre-medicating with a sedative, then placing a tube into the pets airways and instilling oxygen and anesthetic gas. The gas lasts as long as it is administered and we use it in longer and more complicated surgeries or tests.

Anesthetic drugs can relax muscles, lower blood pressure, decrease heart and respiratory rates, cause dilation of certain blood vessels and even cause hyper-excitability. We take all into account when we use an anesthetic protocol. Usually at least two drugs are combined for a smoother introduction, maintenance and recovery. We reverse certain drugs with other drugs, allowing the pet to recover more quickly. If pain is involved, a veterinarian may use drugs that have a slower recovery time and offer more analgesia (pain relief).

Veterinarians use pain relief today. In addition to the analgesia supplied by certain anesthetic agents, post-operative pain relief is available through oral, injectable and transdermal patch delivered drugs.

A slight level of rick always accompanies anesthesia, even for young, healthy animals. But we can minimize the risks. One way is to assess the pet's blood chemistries and blood count beforehand. If we detect abnormalities we take extra precaustions or delay the procedure. We examine every pet before a procedure requiring anesthesia to be sure the heart is beating normally and the physical condition is stable. Your veterinarian will decide the best method based on the individual situation.

Monitoring patients under anesthesia has become high tech. A wide variety of devices are available to veterinarians such as basic heart and respiratory monitors, pulse oximetry, capnometry, ECG, blood pressure and continuous temperature monitors.

Each veterinarian will have different monitoring capabilities and will add the cost of using advanced equipment to the produce. Anesthetic drugs also have different costs, the newest, safest and shortest acting products will be more expensive. Some of the common anesthetic agents used on pets are ketamine, diazepam, halothane, soflurane, Telazol, Dormitor, xylazine, butorphenol and Propofol.

Owners often object to anesthesia because they think their pet is too old. This is not the case. The safety of anesthesia depends on the general health and condition of the pet, not age. Lower doses of anesthetic drugs, drugs reversal agents and individual monitoring and patient support all make senior pets suitable anesthesia patients. At our clinic we have used anesthesia on pets as old as 23 years.

Owners sometimes ask if a procedure can be performed without anesthesia. This may not be in the pet's best interest. Some pets are so fearful and unmanageable during routine veterinary visits or grooming a tranquilizer or sedative keeps them from hurting themselves or others and allows the doctor and staff to do a more thorough job. You should discuss your concerns about the type of anesthesia administered to you pet, its monitoring and any risk you need to be aware of with your veterinarian and clinic staff.

It is not unreasonable to ask for a call after an anesthetic procedure has been completed. Your pet is an important member of your family and a compassionate veterinary staff will understand how you feel.