There are many reasons that pets need to have anesthesia. Dental work, spays and neuters, mass removals, any type of surgery, and yes, C-sections require that your pet be anesthetized. At Town N Country, we have very strict protocols in place to make sure that your pet is safe before, during, and after anesthesia is administered. Here’s what’s involved.
1. Pre Surgical Lab Work. Before we do anything, we check a pet’s organ function to make sure that the health can withstand the sedation we are planning to use. This is especially important in older pets. Once the lab work has been cleared, we can proceed.
2. IV Catheter. An intravenous catheter gives us access to a vein, so that we can start sedation, and can give medicine needed during surgery. It also keeps the pet hydrated.
The initial sedation medicine is given through the IV, but the IV doesn’t keep a pet sedated long enough, so we have a next step.
3. Intubation. When the pet is asleep, we place a tube in their windpipe. Gas given via this tube keeps the dog or cat sedated throughout the procedure and also provides 100% oxygen during the procedure to maximize tissue oxygen levels.
4. Monitoring. Throughout every step of the procedure, we monitor your pet. Every five minutes from the beginning until we are finished with the procedure, we take recordings of heart rate, respiratory rate, O2 saturation, and blood pressure. We visually monitor the deepness of the sedation, making sure it’s not too low nor too high.
Pets are placed on warmed water recirculating blankets that are monitored to make sure the body temperature is correct for each particular animal.
There is always a dedicated technician monitoring from start to finish, whether the procedure is a dental or in the surgery suite. We always have emergency drugs on hand.
5. Waking Up. Once the procedure is done, the gas is disconnected. As soon as the pet begins breathing just oxygen, it will begin to regain consciousness. It takes 10 – 12 minutes before it is fully awake.
When a pet can swallow, we take out the tube. Once the pet wakes up, it is usually really happy, and often makes a lot of noise.
We monitor a pet closely for two to three hours post procedure, making sure it can sit up, and the normal reflexes are back and functioning fine.
There are many things that make Town N Country different. Our protocols for anesthesia are among the high standards that we have in place to keep your pet healthy and safe. If you have questions, ask!