so, this afternoon i went to my local vet to have a chat about getting Pixie's spay done as well as baby teeth pulled, microchipping and nails trimmed which will all be done while she is under the anaesthetic.
I had a look at the practices online website beforehand and liked what i saw...I wrote down a list of questions to take with me and he very kindly answered each one and reassured me that everything should go well and that Pixie's small size should not make any difference in how she reacts to the anaesthetic.
They have 'Twelve Anaesthetic Procedure Promises':-
1 -Obtain a recent health history
2 -Examine and weigh the patient before sedation (the dosage of drugs given are weight dependant)
3 -Refer to a drug dosage chart (attached to the consent form) for Premedication
4 -Induce anaesthesia with Propofol (Rapinovet -see below) or Alfaxan (see below also)
5 -Itubate and supply oxygen
6 -Maintain anaesthesia with Isofluorane (see below)
7 -Monitor the patients vital signs with a pulse Oximeter
8 -Record the vital signs throughout the procedure
9 -Give long acting painkillers and antibiotics as part of the premedication
10 -Insert a venous cannula (see below)
11 -Include the procedure in our performance table
12 -Record recovery time
Rapinovet - is a short acting intravenous agent used for induction. It produces excellent safety with fast, smooth recovery with no, or very little, "hang-over" effect. Occasionally, "difficult cases" will require a different induction procedure.
Alfaxan - is a new intravenous anaesthetic which has been shown to provide a very smooth anaesthesia and recovery requiring low volumes of agent.
Isofluorane - is a gas anaesthesic used to maintain anaesthesia. It has a very short duration of action and is not absorbed into the system.
The patient responds almost immediatley to a change in the percentage delivered. It is therefore safer, especially in older animals with less efficient organ systems.
Venous Cannula - We will place a Cannula in your pets vein to allow us immediate access to administer drugs or fluids in case of an emergency. We will use this in all procedures lasting over 5 minutes.
Pixie will be having blood testing beforehand to check her liver and kidney function, electrolytes and blood glucose and to make sure there are no hidden illnesses which may influence the anaesthetic procedure.
Pixie will be given a potent long acting (24 hours) analgesic (painkiller) at the same time as sedation.
She will be coming home the same day.
All i have to do now is book the appointment..I have to give them 1 weeks notice. But i do now feel much more confident about the whole thing.!
This is something that has been playing on my mind and have been putting off for a while..Pixie is 13 months old and weighs just under 3lbs.
Sorry if this is a little long..but i thought some of the information may be of use to others. Thanks for reading...Kerry & Pixie.
