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   Admissions

 

 

Admission

 

On the day of the procedure, the veterinary nurse or vet will admit your pet in the morning, discuss the plan for the day and answer any questions that you have. After checking a few details with you including a contact telephone number for that day, you will also be required to sign a consent form.

 

If a pre-anaesthetic blood screen has been requested, a small sample of blood will be taken and run on the in house blood analyser. The vet will examine the results and if there are any abnormalities will contact you.

 

Premed

 

Before an anaesthetic, your pet will be given a small injection called a pre-medicant. This is a combination of a sedative and pain killers. Within 10-20 minutes the patient is usually drowsy and relaxed. The premed is used to reduce anxiety, reduce anaesthetic induction agents and aid a smoother anaesthetic and recovery.

 

General anaesthetic

 

A general anaesthetic is an injection that is administered by the vet into a vein in the front

leg. A small clip of hair is required in order to locate the vein and prepare the skin for the

sterile injection. An intravenous catheter is sometimes used to provide patent access

throughout the procedure and recovery. The anaesthetic injection is ultra-fast acting and

the patient is usually asleep within seconds. An endo-tracheal tube is then placed into the

trachea (windpipe) in order to maintain the depth of anaesthesia throughout the procedure. Careful administration of oxygen and anaesthetic gas keeps the patient asleep at the correct depth for as long as required. The veterinary nurse continually monitors the patient to assess depth and vital signs; heart rate, respiratory rate and mucus membrane colour, all of which is recorded on the monitoring chart.

 

Recovery

 

Once the procedure is completed, the anaesthetic gas is switched off and pure oxygen is

administered until the patient regains consciousness. Once the swallowing reflex returns,

the endo-tracheal tube is removed and the patient is transferred to the recovery kennels

where they are provided with a heat pad and plenty of cosy blankets. The ward nurse then keeps a close eye on all the in-patients throughout the afternoon.

 

Progress and discharge

 

The vet (or nurse) will call you on the contact number that you provided us with just as soon as your pet is fully awake. We will give you an update on how everything went and arrange a suitable time for you to collect him/her. This is usually around 3.30-4.00pm onwards. We will provide you with a written post operative care sheet and the discharge nurse will answer any further questions you may have.

 

Is my pet too old for an anaesthetic?

 

Age does not tend to be a barrier. We give general anaesthetics to very old animals (19-20 years+). Older pets often tend to require a general anaesthetic due to bad teeth or tumours which if left could be life-threatening.  We advise a pre-anaesthetic blood profile in all geriatric pets as this can help diagnose underlying diseases which do not present outward clinical signs but could cause anaesthetic complications.

What happens if my pet needs to be admitted for an operation or treatment?

 

If your pet requires a sedation or general anaesthetic, you will be asked to withhold it’s food on the morning of the procedure. This is to ensure that your pet has an empty stomach and that there is no chance they will regurgitate any food during or after the procedure which could be potentially hazardous.

Running a blood sample

Cat in recovery

Monitoring an anaesthetic

Placing an endo-tracheal tube

Admission nurse

 

Old Stoneywood Church, Bankhead Road, Bucksburn, Aberdeen, AB21 9HQ    Tel: 01224 716848