Looks can be deceiving...
Your pet may appear to you and your vet to be completely healthy ........often they are…….but not always.
It may only be when your pet needs to be anaesthetised that early problem becomes apparent - as anaesthetic complications. These complications may occur during an anaesthetic, or more commonly slow recovery.
The likelihood that your pet is masking sub-clinical disease increases with your pet’s age. Pets over 7 years of age are considered seniors and are at the greater risk of anaesthetic complications.
When your pet comes to Huntingdale Veterinary Centre and has a surgical procedure under anaesthetic, you will be offered a pre-anaesthetic blood test as routine.
A pre-anaesthetic blood test gives you and your vet a little window into your pet - assessing liver function, kidney function and protein levels - which are responsible for removing drugs administered during surgery from the body. Tests also assess red and white blood cells levels, important for carrying oxygen and fighting infection.
The results of the blood test will help us to select the safest sedation and anaesthetic for your pet. It will also influence the duration and volume of IV fluids and the choice of pain relief. In some cases where blood abnormalities are significant, your pets surgery may be delayed for further investigation or even cancelled.
Anaesthetics are a big deal and we want your pet to go home happy and healthy.
