During an anesthetic procedure, a Registered Animal Health Technologist monitors your pet. In addition, we have advanced monitoring equipment, which continuously measures your pet’s heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, temperature, and ECG. This information is transferred wirelessly to our computer and is attached to your pet’s medical file.
Maintaining an acceptable body temperature is essential to a safe and smooth anesthetic. Your pet is kept on a temperature-controlled, warm water circulation blanket for the duration of the procedure. This provides a safe and efficient way to control body temperature during and after surgery.
Local anesthesia
If your pet is having a minor surgical or diagnostic procedure performed, we sometimes use a local anesthetic to help control pain. For example, when we perform a biopsy (in which a small portion of tissue is surgically removed so it can be examined), we often use a local anesthetic. Local anesthetics cause a loss of sensation in the area where the procedure is being performed. We sometimes use a sedative and/or anxiolytic (anti-anxiety medication) in combination with the local anesthetic to keep pets calm during a procedure.
Please contact us if you have any questions or concerns about your pet receiving local anesthesia or about the procedure for which your pet is scheduled.
Patient monitoring
We monitor our patients to keep them as safe as possible during procedures that require general anesthesia. A veterinary technician will continually assess your pet’s heart and respiratory rate, blood pressure, and other vital signs to help prevent any anesthetic risk.
Please feel free to ask us about our patient monitoring protocol or any concerns you might have about your pet’s procedure.
Tranquilization & sedation
If travel, thunder, or fireworks upset your pet, he or she may benefit from tranquilization or sedation. While sedated, the animal will stay awake or sleep lightly but can be roused when stimulated. To minimize any potential risk associated with tranquilization or sedation, we need to assess each animal individually before we dispense these medications.
Please contact us if you would like to set up an assessment or discuss sedation with us.