Anaesthetics

Without the aid of modern anaesthetics, many surgical procedures would be made impossible. But, as any anaesthetist will tell you, general anaesthetics are not without their risks. This page is intended to give an outline of the preparation you need to do before your pet has a general anaesthetic at Weston Creek Veterinary Hospital, together with the methods we use for reducing the inherent small risk involved.

Preparation for your pet's general anaesthetic:

There are a few simple preparations to make when your pet is going to have an anaesthetic or sedation:

1.    No food for twelve hours before admission to Hospital - your pet can have their evening meal the night before, but please take the food away by about 8pm;

2. Water is a must overnight before surgery, especially for older animals and those with impaired kidney function. However, it is best to remove their water bowl as the first task when you get up in the morning;

3.   Admission to Hospital is between 7:30 and 8:30 on the morning of the surgery. For day procedures, discharge appointments are made after 4pm that afternoon. For more complex surgeries, or where the patient is required to stay in hospital for further treatment, such as IV fluids, a discharge appointment will be made when the animal is ready to go home.

Reducing anaesthetic risk:

As previously mentioned, general anaesthetics are not without an element of risk. But where a general anaesthetic is necessary, we can minimise the risk to your pet by careful examination beforehand, together with a knowledge of any existing conditions they may have and the results of any pre-anaesthetic blood testing. These allow us to tailor an anaesthetic regime that is most suitable for your pet.

Where abnormalities are known to exist, it is possible to give supportive therapy for the duration of the anaesthetic - for example, intravenous fluids for older pets or pets with known kidney insufficiency - and/or change the anaesthetics used to minimise stress on the abnormal organs. In the event that severe abnormalities are detected prior to the planned administration of an anaesthetic, the risk to the patient versus the benefit of the procedure must be weighed up. In this circumstance, no further action would be taken without lengthy consultation with the pet's owner.

During a general anaesthetic, each animal is carefully monitored and a detailed record is kept of administered anaesthetics and the patient's vital signs. We monitor breathing rate, Heart rate, blood pressure, concentration of oxygen in the blood and expired carbon dioxide via special monitors.

The information from these monitors allows us to determine the patient's level of anaesthesia, and make appropriate adjustments to the drugs being given where necessary.

If you have any further queries regarding any of the information we have presented here, or you are concerned about your pet having an anaesthetic, please telephone and we can discuss any of these matters with you further.