Anesthesia

Our hospital offers a variety of anesthesia services for your pet. The term 'anesthesia' indicates the use of medication to block sensation, typically resulting in unconsciousness. Anesthesia is induced using a variety of medications, both injectable and inhaled. It is used for procedures that require an unconscious animal, such as surgery, certain imaging studies (e.g., x-rays, MRI, CT scans) or medical procedures (e.g., endoscopy).

Pets undergoing anesthesia are typically pre-medicated with an injectable drug. This pre-medication helps the pet relax so that full anesthesia can be induced more smoothly and safely. Next, the pet receives intravenous medication to cause loss of consciousness. A tube is then placed into the pet’s upper airway, and gas anesthesia keeps the pet comfortably anesthetized during the course of the procedure.

We have trained anesthesia technicians running our anesthesia cases 24 hours a day. We also have capabilities to place these patients on ventilators intraoperatively and maintain anesthesia with sevoflurane and injectable constant rate infusions of pain medications. We are also capable of performing epidurals to assist with pain management intraoperatively.