Some health problems and procedures may require your pet to have a general anaesthetic. These may include surgical and dental procedures, lump removal, radiographs and other conditions. Your veterinary healthcare team will only recommend an anaesthetic when it is absolutely necessary. If your pet is having an anesthetic we encourage you to watch our video on having an anaesthetic for a procedure or surgery.

The most common concerns owners have are:

• Their pet is too old for an anaesthetic
•  There are underlying metabolic conditions i.e. diabetes and hyperthyroidism
•   The potential for anaesthetic side effects
•   Their pet has had ‘too many' anaesthetics

These are all valid concerns, however our practice have developed comprehensive safety policies to avoid complications.

There are many things that our healthcare team practise and recommend to reduce these risks and concerns including:

A Pre-Surgical Check

Prior to any general anaesthetic or sedation a presurgical examination is always performed on your pet by a veterinarian. This includes a full clinical examination (including heart rate, respiration rate and temperature), results will also highlight any other concerns relating to the upcoming procedure.

Pre-anaesthetic Blood Profile 

Our primary concern is the well-being of your pet. As some organ or blood disorders may not be detected by physical examination alone, we recommend a preanaesthetic blood test profile be performed prior to the anaesthetic. The results give us a more complete view of your pet's internal health before inducing anaesthesia and allow us to tailor the anaesthetic administration specifically to your pet's requirements. 

Intravenous Fluids (IVFs) 

IVFs given during the anaesthesia help maintain normal blood pressure throughout the surgery or procedure. They also assist the kidney and liver to flush anaesthetic agents out of the body to ensure a speedy recovery. 

Blood Pressure Monitoring 

A Doppler machine is used during the anaesthetic to monitor blood pressure and heart rate. 

An Anaesthetic Protocol for Each and Every Pet

No two patients are the same so our healthcare team individualise every anaesthetic based on age, breed and general health. 

Anaesthetic Monitoring

A trained veterinary nurse constantly monitors and records your pet's vital signs (heart and respiration rate, blood pressure etc) during the anaesthetic to ensure your pet remains stable throughout the procedure and into the recovery period.

Body Temperature

A pet's ability to regulate their body temperature is affected during an anaesthetic. To combat this they are kept warm on a heat pad and surrounded by special heat bags during the procedure. Your pet is placed on warm, soft bedding and wrapped in blankets and then checked and monitored through their recovery. 

Pain relief

Our pets do not show pain as humans do but they still feel it the same as we do. They often try to hide pain from us and may not complain as loudly. It has shown that humans recover better and faster if they are pain free and this is true in animals. Pro-active pain control is used in the hospital and we may also prescribe post-operative pain control for home use.

Follow-up call

A nurse will contact you within 48 hours after the procedure to check if your pet has recovered satisfactorily from the anaesthetic. We normally recommend a post operative check 1-2 weeks after the procedure.

Our recommendations

Our recommendations have been put in place to provide the safest anaesthetic possible for your pet while helping to alleviate some of your concerns. We always recommend dealing with any identified health issues early and promptly. Delaying surgery or a procedure under anaesthetic may result in more serious complications.

If you have any concerns regarding the anaesthetic or procedure we have recommended for your pet please feel free to ask our team for more information.