Pet Anesthesia & Pain Management

Pet Anesthesia

Prior to any surgical or anesthetic procedure, the doctors at AWCB will give your pet a full physical exam. This is our first defense against performing surgery on an animal that may have an infectious disease, a heart murmur, or be debilitated from parasites.

Pre-anesthetic blood testing can detect hidden problems that could cause serious complications when the pet is under anesthesia or in surgery or determine the safest combination of anesthetics to be used for the procedure.

Why is Pre-anesthetic bloodwork important?

A physical exam is great, but the blood tests allow us to really get a closer look at the animals total body function beyond what we can physically see. If a patient seems fine on their physical exam, they could still have a blood clotting disorder that shows no symptoms until surgery begins and complications occur. Pre-anesthetic blood work helps minimize the risk of undiagnosed conditions before sedation. Our Pre-Anesthetic blood panel includes a Complete Blood Cell count (CBC), checks the blood values of vital organs inducing the liver and kidney to be sure they are functioning properly, and a Blood Coagulation test (PT/aPTT) to rule out any blood clotting disorders.

In some cases, the doctors may recommend chest x-rays prior to the procedure as well.

Tailoring Anesthesia for YOUR Pet

Because every patient is different and may have different health conditions or breed-specific limitations regarding certain medications and sedation pharmaceuticals- The doctors at AWCB make sure to customize your pet’s anesthesia to fit his/her individual needs and limitations. Anesthesia is not a “one size fits all”. Your pet’s pre-anesthetic bloodwork and physical exam help us decide what is safest for YOUR pet.

Anesthetic Procedures at AWCB

All of our surgical/anesthetic patients get an IV catheter placed in their leg before their procedure. IV fluids will be administered to help maintain blood pressure, provide internal organ support and to help keep your pet from becoming dehydrated The IV catheter is also a direct communication to your pet’s cardiovascular system providing emergency drugs if there is an emergency. Having a catheter pre-placed is one of the most important procedures for safety.

Endo-tracheal tubes are placed on every surgical patient. This keeps the airway open, yet protected, and allows for supplemental oxygen or gas anesthesia as needed. This tube is also very important to prevent aspiration into the lungs if a pet vomits or otherwise has excess fluids/materials in its mouth. If there is an aspiration, this can causes a serious lung infection (pneumonia).

During anesthesia, your pet will be placed on a monitor so the veterinary technicians can continuously check his/her respiratory and heart rates, EKG, SpO2(oxygen saturation), ETCO2 (end-tidal carbon dioxide), blood pressure, and body temperature. These vitals indicate how your pet’s body is handling the anesthesia which allows us to take further action with medications, if needed.

Endo-tracheal tubes are placed on every surgical patient. This keeps the airway open, yet protected, and allows for supplemental oxygen or gas anesthesia as needed. This tube is also very important to prevent aspiration into the lungs if a pet vomits or otherwise has excess fluids/materials in its mouth. If there is an aspiration, this can causes a serious lung infection (pneumonia).

During anesthesia, your pet will be placed on a monitor so the veterinary technicians can continuously check his/her respiratory and heart rates, EKG, SpO2(oxygen saturation), ETCO2 (end-tidal carbon dioxide), blood pressure, and body temperature. These vitals indicate how your pet’s body is handling the anesthesia which allows us to take further action with medications, if needed.

Pain Management

One of our top priorities as a pet owners and veterinarians is to keep your pet comfortable and pain free. AWCB utilizes multiple forms of pain medications, anti-inflammatories, supplements, and treatments such as laser therapy to provide pain relief for your pet.

In some cases, it will be recommended that your pet have blood work run before and during a pain medication or anti-inflammatory regimen. This will us determine which drugs are safest for YOUR pet, and to monitor how their body handles the medications over time.