How do we safely anesthetize our beloved cats and dogs for needed procedures like dental cleanings, extractions, biopsy and mass removals.
Lets start with the known ways to make it safer for all pets including those with advanced age and comorbid conditions such as diabetes, cushing’s disease, kidney failure, heart disease and advanced age. We will list the specific ways a veterinarian can practice to improve outcome and reduce anesthetic risk. After which we will provide details of what it means and how it happens in a hospital. These steps are utilized by the Animal Clinic of Mandarin and appropriate specialist are engaged in conditions as needed.
- preoperative cardiac ultrasounds when indicated
- preoperative radiographs when indicated
- preoperative blood work
- preoperative physical exam
- preoperative ecg
- IV access and appropriate type and rate of fluid administration
- balanced anesthetic protocol utilizing preoperative injectables to minimize inhalant anesthesia
- continuous detailed anesthetic monitoring including blood pressure, SPO2, CO2, Heart rate, respiratory rate, crt, and temperature
- limited procedural time
- utilization of boarded certified veterinary cardiologist
- utilization of a board certified veterinary anesthesiologist
- utilization of a board certified veterinary dentist
Lets add the pertinent detail to the list above to clarify what each items is....:
- preoperative cardiac ultrasound is indicated when a patient has a cardiac murmur. This cardiac ultrasound is noninvasive and reveals the actual cause of the murmur sound. Once known, your specialist and veterinarian can make a cardiac tailored anesthesia plan just for your pet. This significantly increases safety and is a common occurrence here at the Animal Clinic of Mandarin where we utilize specialists to gain this information and diagnosis and then we generate an anesthetic plan
- preoperative radiographs are indicated when a patient has a heart or lung disorder, or is suspected of possibly having a tumor in this region, or to identify hypoplastic trachea or foreign material
- preoperative blood work is performed before anesthesia to evaluate for dysfunction of the kidneys or liver, anemia or blood cell and platlet disorders, electrolyte disorders and abnormal blood protein levels.
- preoperative physical exam is performed to identify any visual clues of disease, trauma, toxicity or congenital issue.
- preoperative ecg is performed to identify abnormal electrical rhythms of the heart
- IV access and appropriate type and rate of fluid administration is utilized to provide emergency accesses to the vascular system and to provide fluid therapy be it maintenance or resussitative
- balanced anesthetic protocol utilizing preoperative injectables to minimize inhalant anesthesia and hence reduce negative effects on the cardiovascular system and reducing respiratory depression
- continuous detailed anesthetic monitoring including blood pressure, SPO2, CO2, Heart rate, respiratory rate, crt, and temperature allows the team to identify changes in the pets parameters and intervene rapidly to maintain stability
- limited procedural time as negative sequalae increases with increased procedural time
- utilization of boarded cardiologist provides accurate diagnosis of cardiac conditions as well as proper medication and recommendation regarding pets risk status
- utilization of board certified anesthesiologist provides the highest level of care for an anesthetized patient for complicated case management with comorbid conditions
- utilization of a board certified veterinary dentist provides the highest level of care for an anesthetized patient for complicated case management with comorbid conditions and difficult dental pathologies
Please speak to your veterinarian regarding the steps they take to provide the safest anesthesia for their surgical patients. We welcome all questions and recommend scheduling an appointment with Dr. Kaiser to have your pet evaluated.