Pre-Anaesthetic Blood Testing

At Weston Creek Veterinary Hospital, we pride ourselves on the level of care and safety we are able to provide for our patients, especially when general anaesthetics are necessary. However, there is a risk with any general anaesthetic procedure, and one of the services we offer to help minimise this risk is pre-anaesthetic blood testing.

Although a thorough physical examination is conducted on every patient before they have any form of anaesthesia or sedation, internal organ problems may not be detectable through this procedure. Thus, we recommend a pre-anaesthetic profile for all sick, debilitated or aging animals which require an anaesthetic. We also perform the tests at the owner's request for younger animals undergoing anaesthesia.

The pre-anaesthetic blood test involves obtaining a small amount of the patient's blood. For anaesthetics, we are particularly concerned with kidney and liver capabilities, in addition to red blood cell and electrolyte concentrations.

Thus, not only can we determine with greater accuracy how your pet will cope with an anaesthetic procedure, but we also obtain information which can be used for the longer-term medical management of your animal.

What if abnormalities are detected?
If abnormal test results are obtained, one of our Veterinary Surgeons will discuss these with you before you decide whether to continue with the planned procedure. Depending on the nature of the abnormality, it may still be possible to perform the surgery with an altered anaesthetic regime and/or by instituting supportive therapy (such as intravenous fluids) for the duration of the anaesthetic.

Need more information?
 We have brochures describing each of the tests in the pre-anaesthetic test panel, as well as for some of the other blood testing we routinely conduct at the Hospital. Please ask one of our receptionists for a copy of this information if you are interested.