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Anesthesia and Patient Monitoring
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Prior to your pet's surgery, the doctor will examine, aid the technicians in obtaining any necessary specimens for lab work and administer any "preanesthetic" agents necessary to make your pet comfortable. A long acting pain medication is often given at this time as well.
A gas anesthesia is administered through a mask over your pet's nose and mouth. When your pet is asleep, a tube is inserted in the trachea to allow the flow of oxygen and anesthesia to be delivered directly to the lungs, providing good control of the level of anesthesia.
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At this time an IV catheter is placed to allow a slow drip of fluids during the surgical procedure and make available a direct line should any other medications need to be administered. If you consented to the catheter on your surgical release form, please expect a small shaved area where the catheter was placed into a vein. We also monitor your pet's heart rate and oxygen level with an additional machine called a pulse oximeter.
Your pet's hair is clipped and the skin or surgical area is cleaned thoroughly with an antiseptic soap prior to the surgery. The surgical procedure can take anywhere from 10 minutes to well over an hour. Recovery is monitored closely by a trained technician until the animal is swallowing, attempting to sit up and is aware of his/her surroundings. This recovery time can vary from 5 to 30 minutes and during this time your pet is never left unmonitored.
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