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Many pet parents are concerned about anesthetizing their pets for surgical procedures. Yet, many necessary procedures, such as neutering and dental cleanings, require anesthesia. There is always some degree of risk with anesthesia but at Hope Springs Veterinary, we do our best to minimize the risks as much as possible by performing pre-anesthetic bloodwork, using an extremely safe anesthetic agent and high tech monitoring equipment.

Whenever your pet is scheduled for an anesthetic procedure, a pre-anesthetic blood panel is required. A blood panel is a great tool because it can show hidden illness such as diabetes and liver or kidney insufficiency. Many anesthetic drugs are filtered through the liver and kidneys so it is important that the doctors know how well the pet’s organs are working. If a problem is found, a treatment plan can be pursued prior to the dental procedure. In some cases the dental procedure may be canceled or postponed. The patient’s anesthetic protocol may be adjusted based on the bloodwork results, as well.

Before anesthesia, each pet has an intravenous catheter placed in one of their legs. This catheter gives us access directly to your pet’s veins to administer anesthetic drugs and intravenous fluids. The intravenous fluids keep your pet hydrated and blood pressure at a healthy level.

During anesthesia the patient is continually monitored. Each pet has a heart, oxygen, temperature, blood pressure, and carbon dioxide monitor attached to them during the whole procedure (a Pulse-OX monitor), just like you would have in a human hospital.  A skilled licensed veterinary technician and a doctor will be watching your pet and adjusting the anesthetic level according to what the pet’s needs.     

Our priority at Hope Springs is to help pet parents keep their pets as happy and healthy as possible. Anesthesia is an important part of veterinary care that should be respected and not feared. Our staff is happy to address any concerns you may have regarding your pet’s anesthesia.