Anesthetic Risks

As in human medicine, many procedures in veterinary medicine involve anaesthesia. General anaesthetics involve administering a medication that induces a sleep-like state where your pet cannot feel any pain. These medications act on the nervous system and rely on the liver, lungs or kidneys to be cleared from the body.  It is important that we are aware of any organ problems prior to the administration of anaesthesia.  As such, any underlying problems with these organ systems can increase the adverse effects of a procedure. The pre-anesthetic blood screening available can help minimize these risks by evaluating certain kidney and liver parameters, electrolyte imbalances, dehydration, anaemia, etc.  We recommend pre-anaesthetic blood testing for patients of all ages.  However, for patients over six years of age pre-anesthetic blood testing is mandatory. The risks of anaesthesia, while rare, may range from minor allergic reactions, undetectable and temporary injury to certain organ systems to death.

            While the risk of anaesthesia is certainly minimal in healthy patients, there are several situations where adverse reactions can occur. Because anesthetic agents cause unconsciousness, animals which are compensating for an undiagnosed medical condition may be unable to compensate for their disease while under anaesthesia. For example, a cat with heart disease which appears healthy on physical exam because it is coping by making its heart work harder may be unable to do so under anesthetic. In addition, some animals, like some people, may be allergic to certain anesthetic medications and may suffer an allergic reaction ranging from swelling to anaphylactic shock. These cases are rare, but are something you should be aware of to make an informed decision regarding anaesthesia for your pet.

To best protect your pet, anesthetic agents are chosen based on your pets personal medical history, including age, underlying health concerns, the duration of the procedure as well as the nature of the surgery. In our hospital, a certified animal health nurse monitors heart rate, respiration, blood pressure as well as other parameters during all surgeries.  Electronic monitoring is also used to monitor blood oxygen levels, respiration and heart rates, blood pressure and echocardiographs (ECG) are available for certain procedures.

In all but the most extreme circumstance, the health benefits afforded to your pet by undergoing surgery as advised by the doctor greatly outweigh these anesthetic risks. We do, however, want you to be able to make an informed decision regarding your pets’ health. Please do not hesitate to discuss any concerns you may have with the doctor or other staff member. Like you, we want to provide the best possible care for your pet! 

 How to Help Reduce the Risk of Anesthesia

          When your pet is about to undergo a procedure that requires anesthetic or sedation, it is important to make an informed decision for him/her.  Pre-anesthetic blood analysis can be done quickly in our facility.  These results are available within 15-20 minutes. 

          Pre-anesthetic testing allows us to make better informed decisions in regard to your pets’ health care.  Knowing more about what is going on inside your pet’s body enables us to put your pet in the lowest anesthetic risk category possible.  There may even be times the veterinarian may decide not to go ahead with a scheduled procedure due to the results of the blood tests.

           If you would like further information about what parameters our pre-anesthetic blood tests cover, please give us a call or send us an email and we would be happy to send you one of our Pre-Anesthetic Testing brochures.

          We hope this information will provide you with a little more information so that you can make an informed and educated choice.