Anaesthetic information

Important information for any pet undergoing an anaesthetic or sedation.
Modern anaesthetics are very safe procedures in most animals. However, there are some risk of an adverse reaction with any anaesthetic. There are a number of things that can be done to reduce risk during an anaesthetic.

What you will need to do?
– Take all food away from your pet the night before the anaesthetic, by approximately 10pm. Allow water overnight. Do not feed your pet on the morning of the anaesthetic.
– Drop off your pet to the clinic at your booked admission time (between 7:40am and 8:30am).
– Our staff will contact you with your pet’s progress and to arrange a pickup time. If you have not heard from us by 3pm please contact the clinic.
– We are able to arrange special pickup and drop off times if necessary – just ask at reception.
– For safety reasons we require all dogs to be on a lead and cats secured in a cage when coming into the clinic. Cat cages can be hired from the clinic.

How do we maximise your pet’s safety during an anaesthetic?
– All animals will receive a veterinary pre-anaesthetic physical examination on the morning of the procedure.
– A pre-anaesthetic medication is given, this is an injection that will relax your pet. It also reduces the amount of anaesthetic required.
– A trained nurse will monitor your pet throughout the anaesthetic until your pet has completely recovered.
– Post-operative pain is also monitored once recovered.
– We use respiratory and blood oxygen monitors throughout the procedure.
– We use isofluorane gas anaesthetic which is one of the safest modern anaesthetics.

What are further ways we can reduce risk during an anaesthetics?
– Intravenous fluids – This will further reduce the chance of complications during or after the anaesthetic and make recovery smoother. We will place a catheter in your pet’s front leg and connect them to an infusion pump (the same as used in human hospitals) which will automatically deliver fluids throughout the procedure (complimentary with all general anaesthetic procedures).
– Pre-anesthetic blood testing – highly recommended for pets 8 years or older. It is an automated blood test that screens for some diseases that may not be apparent during a normal physical examination (eg. kidney disease and diabetes). These diseases can cause complications under anaesthetic and need to be treated prior to the anaesthetic. Blood is collected prior to the anaesthetic and if necessary appropriate treatment taken. There is an additional cost for all blood testing.