Just please make sure you are 100% watching every move he makes with the cone off. Eye surgery is very delicate and all he has to do is scratch his face with his paw one time to do damage to the eye. The cone is on to protect him from scratching at his eye with his feet and from rubbing/bumping it against anything.

I too work at a veterinary clinic and would like to know what some of you mean? Its actually much better for dogs to receive a pre med, a injection to sedate them . ANd there are many different ones to use. ANd also everyone is saying so that way they wake up faster. But in my experience at a veterinary clinic for the past 13 years, i would much rather my pet wake up a little slower. Its much better for the dog. If they wake up to fast they are totally freaked out ,disoriented and trying to move around and they will start swinging their head and stuff , and this scares them, cause they cant control their movements yet. But if they have the right sedation, they will wake up a little slower and much calmer , not so scared and freaked out. And its also much easier on the dog to sedate with an injection rather than masking them down with iso and o2, because they wake up much better if sedated first. Anyway this is what i have experienced. We also use iso on all dogs, no matter what breed. Its very safe for all of them.

I think people get confused because they hear that Iso or Sevo should be used and don't realize that that is for maintenance, not to knock an animal down with. Of course it can be used if you are masking down, but this is not the protocol of choice for most dogs.

As for the tranquilizer/sedation injections, I think opinions vary quite a bit. Most of these drugs I would not let someone use on my dog, esp. in a cocktail. It doesn't make it wrong. I think Propofol and perhaps one other drug is a safe way to go.

I don't want to go into details, but a vet here ran into some trouble with a certain cocktail combo recently and I believe said vet has moved to Propofol only.

Very few dogs should be masked down. It can stress them out quite a bit and some of the other drugs have good and needed affects to compliment the Iso or Sevo.

At the same time, if a vet is doing surgery without gas to maintain, I'd get out of there fast.

I just realized this thread started in 2006, but it is very timely for me as Dash is being neutered Wednesday and I was having doubts/questions about anesthesia. My vet is starting with morphine, followed by Propofol and then Isoflurane. She has suggested this is easiest on their kidneys as well.

Yes, I agree. Sevo is what's used for human pediatrics and geriatrics (as far as I know)and it's a little safer than iso (a little more expensive too, but not much). Alice is ready to be spayed and I asked our new vet which they use. She said they are switching to Sevo in a month so I'm opting to wait.
I've seen some vets give way too much pre-anesthetic :thumbdown(the injectable) and others use the bare minimum amount - just enough to get the dog (or cat) sedated enough to be able intibate and start the iso or sevo:thumbup:. I think alot of people don't realize also, there's not just the gas anestheitc going into your dog through the intibation tube, there's straight oxegen too (a mixture of both). I personaly wouldn't trust a vet who was not going to intubate for a surgery (with the exception of a 5 minute cat neuter;)). They'll have to give way too much of the injectable anesthesia to keep the animal sedated long enough.
The AAHA accredited vet I worked for used a combination of Ketamine/Valium for dogs and only the minuimum for their weight to get them tubed, then of course sevo. They all woke up really quickly, almost as soon as we turned off the sevo and removed the tube.

Oops, I miss-quoted LOL. I was talking about the iso vs. sevo part. I do agree with Elli Mae's comment that I quoted though also:)

I think most of it is a matter of trusting the vet and letting them do their job as long as key things seem correct (Iso or Sevo, IV placed, etc.).

My Yorkie has only have had Iso (not Sevo) and I prefer it for her. Sevo has its problems too. They are both great drugs. Ellie's vet office got Sevo in and got rid of it... They will do what they think is safest and best, so opinions on this definitely vary.

This is definitely something people need to remember. Just because you read on the internet that "Sevo has its problems too" doesn't mean that it isn't safe and that Iso is better then Sevo. BOTH these drugs are safe and used in pediatric medicine as well as veterinary medicine. The last hospital I worked for used Iso in some departments and Sevo in others.

Everybody needs to find a vet they trust. That is key.

ETA: Ellie's other vet's office uses both and gives the owner the option (charging more for Sevo).

And the reasons why we are happy with Iso for Ellie may not apply to your pups. I am very comfortable with it with her liver issue and she has done very well with it. There are other times when I'd probably wonder if Sevo would be better. All dogs are different and all react differently.