Anesthesia Safety for the Pet You Love #DrDonDeForge #SilverSandsVeterinary

Donald H. DeForge, VMD

Silver Sands Veterinary

Milford Veterinary Hospital

17 Seemans Lane

Milford, CT 06460

P-203-877-3221

E-Mail DoctorDeForge@yahoo.com

DonDeForge100@gmail.com

www.SilverSandsVeterinary.com

NEVER NEVER LAND

It might be miles beyond the moon,

Or right there where you stand.
Just keep an open mind,
And then suddenly you'll find
Never Never Land.

You'll have a treasure if you stay there,
More precious far than gold.
For once you have found your way there,
You can never, never grow old.

And that's my home where dreams are born,
And time is never planned.
Just think of lovely things.
And your heart will fly on wings,
Forever in Never Never Land.

A Safe Journey for Your Pet Under Anesthesia

Pre-Anesthesia Examination and Testing Requisites-American College of Veterinary Anesthesia- Monitoring Guidelines

Companion animal advocates are very concerned when

 the pet that they love needs to undergo general

 inhalation anesthesia for any reason.

 
The ultimate goals of veterinary preoperative medical

 assessment and human preoperative assessment are

 identical.  The goal of exam and testing is to reduce the

 patient’s surgical and anesthetic peri-operative

 morbidity or mortality, and to return the patient to

 normal functioning and a pain free quality of life as

 quickly as possible.

 It is imperative to realize that anesthesia risk and

 recovery from anesthesia risk is multi-factorial and a

 function of the preoperative medical condition of the

 patient; the invasiveness of the surgical procedure; and

 the type of anesthetic administered.

A history and physical examination is critical with

 emphasis on risk factors for cardiac and pulmonary

 complications.  Laboratory investigations must be

 ordered based on the patient’s age; medical status; drug

 therapy; or the nature of the proposed procedure.

 Those veterinary patients with co-morbidity should be

 optimized for the procedure.  Proper consultations with

 appropriate medical specialists should be scheduled to

 improve the patient’s health prior to anesthesia if

 indicated.

These consultations should ideally not be done in a "last

 second" fashion. The pre-operative preparation involves

 procedures that are implemented based on the nature of

 the expected operation as well as the findings of the

 diagnostic workup and the pre-operative evaluation.

 The referring doctor-LDVM-RDVM-can spear head and

 complete all exams and testing or refer to a specialist

 for that testing.

 Listed below are many of the tests that the LDVM or

 Specialist may order based on the age of the patient;

 pre-existing medical health of the patient; and/or othe

 factors noted in past Medical Records.  It is critical to

 know if any patient referred has had any adverse history

 with anesthesia, sedation, and/or analgesic medicines i

 the past.

The Pre-Anesthesia Testing  Module choices will be determined by the veterinarian or anesthesiologist that will be anesthetizing the friend that you love.  Not all of the testing below is performed on each patient.  Discuss your doctor's testing choices based on age; past anesthesia history; any present medical problems; the obese state; or present problems being treated.

Pre-Anesthesia Testing Modules

 [          } Physical Exam

[          ] Comprehensive Chemistry Profile and CBC

[          ] Urinalysis

[          ] Feline Leukemia-Immunodeficiency-and Bartonella Testing at National Veterinary Lab

[          ] CardioPet proBNP / Feline *

[          ] SDMA Biomarker for Kidney Function (IDEXX Adult Wellness

[          ] Blood Pressure

[          ] Coagulation Testing [PT/PTT/BMBT]

[          ] Electrocardiogram

[          ] Chest Radiology

[          ] Echocardiogram

[          ] Abdominal Sonogram

[          ] Internal Medicine Consult and Pre-Anesthesia Testing

[          ] Cardiologist Consult


Common Questions Asked about Animal Anesthesia:

1] Are anesthesia complications common?

There are horror stories on the internet that just are not fact.  

Some internet sites offer reliable and useful information from

veterinary specialists....many others contain inconsistencies 

and flat out falsities.  Don't be fooled by misinformation.  Do 

research on anesthesia; read articles from veterinary univer-

sity sources and discuss your findings with your local doctor

of veterinary medicine.  This will rid your mind of a few 

unfounded fears.  A well trained veterinary team will take

every reasonable precaution including state of the art

monitoring equipment with trained veterinary nurses for

patient evaluation under anesthesia.


2] The drugs my doctor uses for anesthesia may hurt my

 pet?

Sit down with your LDVM and have them describe all

of the drugs to be used and why they have been

selected.

The veterinarian chooses an anesthesia protocol

to meet each patient's needs based on the patient's

procedure; time predicted under anesthesia; the age of the

patient; other medical conditions present prior to anesthesia;

and general overall health of your pet.  Don't forget to ask 

about the monitoring equipment and how your pet is 

recovered after anesthesia.


Don't let friends, gossip, or the internet prevent your pet

from receiving necessary care with general anesthesia.

Let your doctor be your guide!



Dr. DeForge welcomes questions to his blogs at 

DonDeForge100@gmail.com