Pre-anaesthetic blood test
A pre-anaesthetic blood test may have been included within your estimate as a recommendation. The test enables us to potentially detect problems with your pet’s health. The test focuses on the functioning of the liver and kidneys as well as identifying anaemia and signs of infection. The proper functioning of the liver and kidneys is especially important as these organs detoxify and eliminate sedatives and anaesthetics.
As well as giving us information to refer to at the time of the procedure, having baseline blood results can help in the future as we can monitor for any changes over time and keep an eye on your pet‘s general health. We can run these blood tests on any patient but particularly recommend it for senior pets over the age of 8 as they can be more likely to have underlying health issues. If a pre-anaesthetic blood test has not been included within your estimate but you would like your pet to have one, let us know and we can alter the estimate for you.
It is important to understand that a pre-anaesthetic blood test does not guarantee the absence of anaesthetic complications, but does help us reduce the chances of your pet experiencing them. Results might cause us to adjust the dose or type of anaesthetic and therefore reduce the risk of complications, or we may delay non-urgent surgery until after further treatment.
Fluid therapy
Intravenous fluid therapy may have been included within your estimate as a recommendation. Fluid therapy speeds up recovery time by helping detoxify and eliminate anaesthetic drugs. It also maintains normal blood pressure, and, if necessary, can be warmed to counteract the drop in body temperature of an anaesthetised patient. We strongly recommend that it is administered to all cats and dogs over the age of 8 years and to any patient having a procedure of 45 minutes or longer. If intravenous fluid therapy has not been included within your estimate but you would like your pet to have it, let us know and we can alter the estimate for you.
Please note that it is optional for pets to have elective intravenous fluid therapy, but if your pet’s blood pressure drops below a certain threshold they will be placed on fluid therapy to prevent an anaesthetic emergency, the cost of which will be added to your invoice. In some cases, intravenous fluid therapy is not elective and must be used during a procedure for patient safety, in which case our team will advise you of this.
Lungworm testing
All dog owners should be aware that lungworm (Angiostrongylus Vasorum) is common in the area. One of the harmful effects of this parasite is to cause potentially fatal bleeds while in surgery and post-operatively. As a preventative measure we advise that all dogs coming in for surgery are tested for lungworm, unless they have been treated for lungworm monthly for the preceding 4 months. Speak to your vet if you are unsure if your dog is protected against lungworm with the parasite control products you use – it is important to note there is not yet an over the counter product that protects against it. The lungworm test requires a small blood sample and the test is performed in-house with results available before surgery. If your dog tests negative, we will proceed with surgery; if they test positive we will contact you to discuss the results and next steps. While this test is recommended, please let us know if you would prefer to opt out of testing, on the understanding of the risks involved. More information about lungworm can be found here, or call us at the surgery if you have any queries.
Although there is a type of lungworm that affects cats, it is far less common and does not result in surgical complications in the same way as for dogs, which is why this test is not available for felines.
Laser Therapy
Post-operative laser therapy may have been included within your estimate as an optional recommendation. We recommend the use of the Class IV Laser immediately after some operations to help reduce swelling, inflammation and pain, leading to more rapid healing. If you would like more information about this, please see our laser therapy information page. Please do let us know if you would prefer for your pet not to have this. There are a small number of procedures where the use of a laser would not be recommended, so if it has not been included but you’d like to have it, please let a member of our team know so they can discuss it with you.
Call us on 01435 864422 if you have any questions about your pet’s procedure.
