Anesthesia

Anesthesia is a very integral part of any veterinary clinic.  It is necessary for most surgeries and some diagnostic procedures.  To ensure safety and to lower the risks to patients, we recommend pre anesthetic blood work.  It is important to realize that any procedure or surgery performed under anesthetic is not risk free.

Most animals are first pre medicated with a combination of sedative and painkiller and then induced (put under) with either a barbiturate, isoflorane gas or another recognized drug protocol. 

Once asleep (depending on the procedure) they are then hooked up to an anesthetic gas (isoflorane) to keep them asleep during the procedure.  While under anesthetic, pets are closely monitored by technicians and the veterinarian.  Monitoring includes manual supervision of heart and respiratory rates as well as monitoring by a machine that can measure pulse, blood pressure, cardiac rhythm, and blood oxygen saturation.  No animal is “too old” for anesthesia with modern drugs and monitoring.

In some cases, full anesthesia is not required and heavy sedation and/or local anesthesia are used.