Services

Anaesthesia and surgical procedures (continued)

Anaesthesia
Induction: We use short acting injectable drugs such as Isoflo to induce anaesthesia. This is to enable us to place an endotracheal tube into the trachea for maintenance of anaesthesia. These short acting drugs are quickly and safely eliminated from the body to give a speedy recovery. In some cases where the animal is very small or very ill we are able to mask them down with gas to reduce the amount of anaesthetic used.

Maintenance: For most procedures we use Sevofluorane gas to maintain anaesthesia. This is delivered through a rubber endotracheal tube (placed into the trachea) and from there to the lungs. We use a modern dedicated vaporiser to give accurate control of the percentage of anaesthetic gases given in the oxygen carrier. This allows us to increase or decrease the depth of anaesthesia as needed.

At the end of the operation the anaesthetic gas is turned off and the animal is allowed to breathe pure oxygen which helps to flush the anaesthetic from the lungs and begins the recovery process.

Monitoring
We use an ECG heart and respiratory monitor on our patients during their anaesthetic to allow us to monitor their progress during the operation. We have warning alarms that are set to warn us if the heart or respiratory rates fall.

Recovery
After the anaesthetic gas has been switched off the animal is supplied with pure oxygen and the anaesthetic in the animal’s bloodstream is eliminated through the lungs and carried away in the oxygen. When the swallowing reflex is present the tube is removed from the trachea and the tongue is positioned to maintain a clear airway. The animal is not returned to the kennel until it begins to lift its head. Once in the kennel it is monitored to ensure the recovery proceeds without problems.

Hospitalisation
We aim to admit and discharge most pets that are having routine operations on the same day. However, some pets need further treatment to aid their recovery and we are able to hospitalise pets for as long as needed.