General anaesthesia is necessary to perform surgical procedures and some non-surgical procedures which would otherwise be painful or stressful for your pet.

Before a general anaesthetic our patients are given a combination of sedating and pain relieving medications. The medications used are carefully formulated for the individual patient taking age and pre-existing conditions into consideration.  Similar to general anaesthesia in human patients, our patients are maintained on oxygen and anaesthetic gases.

Registered veterinary nurses are trained in anaesthesia and while our patients are anaesthetised they are continually monitored. Monitoring of heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure, carbon dioxide levels and anaesthetic depth allows a trained nurse to maintain their patient at an ideal anaesthetic depth by changing the percentage of gas anaesthetic throughout the procedure. Continuous monitoring of anaesthesia means problems can be identified and fixed quickly and accurately by the surgery vet and nurse team.

Before general anaesthesia we recommend a blood profile to identify pre-existing liver or kidney problems that might alter your pet’s anaesthetic plan. During general anaesthesia, intravenous fluids help to maintain ideal blood pressure and more quickly excrete some anaesthetic medications allowing a faster recovery.