Have you ever found yourself in the hospital, getting ready to go in for surgery? Were you surrounded by several nurses, all who seemed intent on stabbing you with a sharp instrument, putting a catheter in your arm, placing something in your mouth, or trying to take your blood? Have you ever wondered why they needed to draw that blood sample before surgery or needed to place that intravenous catheter? Have you ever considered looking the doctor in the eye and saying, “Is this really necessary?” or “No thanks Doc, I’m trying to save money and I don’t think I want to pay for bloodwork?” My guess is that you never have. You take it as necessary precautions to ensure you wake up from your anesthetic procedure. Well guys, the same holds true for your pets.
In this day and time, I consider it poor practice to perform surgery on any of my clients without first screening them for underlying problems, Problems which could put your animal at serious risk if anesthatized. I also can not conceive not placing an intravenous catheter. IV catheters provide me access to a vein through which I can administer drugs and fluids, as well as helps control blood pressure. The act of performing preanesthetic labwork and administering Intravenous fluids is basic good medicine and you, as a client, need to be informed.
Running blood chemistries allows me, your doctor, to be more certain there is no underlying problem that may require delaying anesthesia in my patient. It allows us a look into your animals body, to see how well their organs are functioning. organs, like the liver and kidneys, must be in good working order to metabolize the anesthetic drugs we are giving. If they are sick or damaged, we could actually put your pet at greater risk with anesthesia. In fact it could result in their death. It is important we address any problems before anesthesia is performed. Even in a young animal who is being spayed or neutered. Young animals can have congenital abnormalities of their organ systems which may only be found with labwork. Would you rather find out before a surgery that they have problems or after when something has gone terribly wrong? I agree, and that is why I will not place an animal under anesthesia until these tests have been performed. No surgery is without risk, and there is no such thing as just a simple spay or neuter.
I hear all the time that young animals are healthy and there is no reason to perform these tests. Tell that to the owner who loses their beloved dog or cat who just went in for that simple spay or neuter. I think I need to make a point here. As a profession we have downplayed these surgeries. A spay is MAJOR ABDOMINAL SURGERY. It is the exact same surgery you, or your wife would have performed if they needed a hysterectomy. In fact it is the same. We remove the uterus and the ovaries from the abdominal cavity. It is not routine surgery and I assure you, no one would ask you to have that surgery performed without first testing you for any problems which may indicate you should not go under anesthesia. Your pet deserves the same consideration.
Now let’s talk about Intravenous Fluids. When you or an animal is put under anesthesia, one of the first and most dramatic things which can happen is your blood pressure will drop. Blood pressure is necessary to ensure all of your organs, including your brain, get adequate amounts of blood which carries oxygen and glucose, as well as other nutrients. No tissue can survive long without oxygen and the brain is especially sensitive. Also, glucose is the only source of energy the brain can use. So if blood pressure drops to low and organs, ie the brain, are deprived of either oxygen or glucose or both, you may not like the end result. temporary brain damage, permanent brain damage, damage to other organs (kidneys and liver) or death. None of these are outcomes we would want, and that is why I will not perform surgery without fluids.
I hope this gives you a better understanding of this issue. If you have questions or would like more information, please call my office at 970-263-8882.
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