Pre-anaesthetic Info

When you place your pet in our hands, you trust us to provide them with the best possible medical care. Any procedure that involves general anaesthesia, no matter how minor it is, carries with it a small risk. In order to provide you the peace of mind you deserve, we recommend pre-anaesthetic testing prior to placing your pet under anaesthesia. Many apparently healthy animals have pre-existing internal problems that cannot be detected on an external physical examination, even young animals. Please take the time to read through the following information prior to your pet's surgery.

Pre-Anaesthetic Blood Testing

Blood tests provide information concerning your pet's vital organs, such as the liver and kidneys, and any abnormalities can affect our anaesthetic protocol.

If the results are normal, we can proceed with confidence knowing that there is minimal anaesthetic risk. This will also give us a baseline of what is healthy for your pet. Should any serious abnormalities appear on the blood test, we will contact you prior to any anaesthetic or surgical procedure to discuss it further.

Blood tests are indicated in all pets undergoing anaesthesia. This includes young or apparently healthy pets, pets with pre-existing medical conditions and especially for pets six years of age or older.

Fluid Therapy

Choosing additional fluid therapy for your pet can be an important part of their pre-surgery and recovery time. Fluid therapy is vital for ensuring your pet's blood pressure is kept at a suitable level during and after the procedure - this means blood supply isn't drawn away from vital organs like the brain! After fasting for a procedure, our pets can be dehydrated post-operatively so the additional fluids help in restoring their hydration levels. It also helps your pet flush out the anaesthetic drugs from their system quicker, meaning they go home brighter and happier.

Fear not though, if you do not choose the additional fluids, your pet is placed on surgical fluids for the duration of the procedure only.

Pre-Surgery Instructions

Make sure your pet's last meal is the night before surgery and that water is picked up first thing on the morning of the surgery.
Please advise us of any problems you have noticed with your pet lately (eg, not eating, vomiting, diarrhoea, coughing, etc) and if there is anything you want us to check while your pet is hospitalised.
Please ensure your pet has been treated for fleas, and dogs have been bathed recently. Please note that if fleas are found on your pet we will advminister flea prevention and charge you accordingly.
Please bring your dog in on a lead, or your cat in a carry cage.

What to Expect on Admission

At your appointment time, your attending Nurse or Vet will take you and your pet into a consulting room to give you some pre-admission information, ask some pre-admission questions, go through any queries you may have about your pet's procedure and fill in a consent form.
On the form you will be required to either consent or waiver the pre-anaesthetic blood test indicated for your pet.
Any belongings your pet is being admitted with will be recorded on the consent form.
You will be given an approximate time of your pet's procedure and we will collect a reliable contact phone number from you so that we can cotnact you when necessary.
You will be contacted by your attending Nurse or Vet when your pet is in recovery from their surgery.
We will then book an appropriate discharge time for later that afternoon.

What to Expect on Discharge

At your discharge appointment, your attending Nurse or Vet will review the details of your pet's procedure and report the results of your pre-anaesthetic diagnostic tests.
After-care will be explained to you, including any medications that may need to be given and what to expect after your pet's anaesthetic.
An itemised invoice will be explained to you and payment collected while you wait for your pet, so you have your hands free when they are brought out to you.
A follow up visit will be scheduled if necessary e.g., to check gum healing after a dental, to remove sutures and/or drains, remove or change bandages or to check medical progress.

If you have any further questions in relation to your pet's upcoming procedure, please contact the clinic on 07 3881 0077. We look forward to seeing you and your pet soon.