Pet Medicine: Knowing The Risks Of Canine Anesthesia In Surgery

From the desk of Sharda Baker.



 

 

Hello and welcome everyone!

This is Sharda with a pet medicine newsletter.

Whatever your dogs health may appear to be like a large percentage of house hold canines will inevitably end up under the knife at some point in their lives; this could be for a simple neutering/spaying operation or perhaps for a more complex surgery to fix a serious medical condition.

Whatever the case, your dog will need to be put under by a skilled veterinarian to ensure both his/her comfort and safety through out the procedure.

As with humans being sedated with a powerful pet medicine combination comes with its own risks and it has been found that dogs react to anesthetic pet medication to varying degrees, depending on their size and breed.

In fact there seems to be no set science to administering the correct dosages to specific dog species, so finding the most competent and experienced veterinary services is an important first step to having your dog treated.



TYPES OF ANESTHESIA PET MEDICINE AND THEIR USES

Administering the correct dose of veterinary anesthesia is done in relation to a dog's weight, for example he/she may require 1ml of pet medicine per pound to safely put them into a pain free sleep.

Though, different types of anesthesia are used during different forms of surgery depending on the level of pain that may be caused to the dog.

  • Local anesthetics: (lidocaine, marcaine) These are used in simple short lasting surgeries where the cuts are relatively shallow, usually just below the surface of the skin. These are administered intramuscularly via injection and numb the affected area. These are very safe and rarely if ever cause over doses in animals, though some over excited pets may require an extra injection to calm them down during the surgery.
  • General anesthetics: (isoflurane, halothane) This form of pet medicine is usually administered as an inhaled gas which puts a dog into a deep sleep and removes the sensation of pain. Some animals are also given a combined injection of barbiturates and other types of pet medicine to help control the deepness of the anesthetic sleep and remove the risk of coma/death.
  • Dissociative agents: (ketamine, zolazepam) These particular medications are often used by pet clinics when the veterinarian believes that the dog is too weak to be put under with the above general anesthetics. The dissociative agent doesn't put the dog to sleep; instead it de-links the part of the brain related to pain and puts the pet into a kind of trance like state where they are awake but unable to move or feel pain.


DANGERS OF CANINE ANESTHESIA

Fortunately there are fewer fatalities during surgeries these days as more knowledge has been gained on the right combinations and quantities of anesthesia needed to put most breeds of dogs under, though this is not always 100% risk free.

Older dogs and those with a history of previous medical conditions will obviously be at higher risk during those surgeries which require general anesthetics and should consult their vet before going ahead with an operation.

In these particular cases your dog may require pre-operation tests to check the functioning of his/her major organs. In general the medications used to anesthetize an animal may slow the heart and breathing down as well as lowering the animal's blood pressure to dangerously low levels.

There are certain breeds of dog at higher risk of complications while under anesthesia, particularly the pure bred canines, who are known to develop specific medical conditions during their life times.

Sight hounds and toy breeds, including the grey hound, poodle and pugs are known to be highly sensitive to most anesthetic pet medicine types; possibly due to their low body fat.

Though, a smaller size doesn't necessarily mean a lower anesthesia dose as practicing vets have found that many giant breed dogs require smaller doses of anesthetic per body weight when compared with smaller dogs.

 

ENSURING A SAFE SURGERY FOR YOUR DOG

The best way to ensure that your dog receives the correct dosage and a safe/comfortable surgery is to be open with the vet about his/her medical history and behavior up till now.

Here are some other points to bear in mind before a surgical procedure:

  1. Find a well experienced and qualified veterinarian with a proven history of successful operations.

  2. Tell your vet everything about your pet's health history, eating habits, etc prior to the surgery.

  3. If there are any doubts your dog may undergo several physical tests to evaluate his/her suitability for different anesthetics.

  4. Get a series of blood work tests to gain a better picture of your dogs heath.

  5. Purchase suitable pet insurance for your companion.

I really hope you learned a LOT of things from today's pet medicine newsletter.

All the best and take care

Warmly,