isoflurane anesthesia
 

Hobbs is getting neutered on Friday, and I have read many many posts about isoflurane anesthesia. Can someone please explain to me the advantages of this over other types of anesthesia? Is it recommended that the vet use this over intravaneous anesthesia, or in conjunction? I thought that intravaneous anesthesia was better than gas because it would allow the vet to administer drugs faster in the event of an accident. Any help?

Can't help you but that's what my Breeder told me to make sure the vet used and people on here. Hopefully someone will respond and answer your question

When they pull the tube out of the dog after surgery, they wake up almost instantly and the biggest plus of all, heaven forbid something happen, iso is reversible with a shot. But.... Vet's have to use what they are most comfortable with. If you trust your vet then all should be fine. Good luck.

This website might help explain:

http://www.petnews.com/clinicroom6.html

The newer one is now sevoflurane

http://www.thepetprofessor.com/artic...le.aspx?id=494

Hope these help

From what I've read and my own experience the isoflorine is better to use on smaller dogs. The intravenous makes it harder for them to wakeup. I had to INSIST that the vet use the isoflorine (spelling?) because at the time Cookie was under 3 lbs. They charged me more like $175 total instead of the price they quoted me $75-$80


Genie

Isoflurane :thumbup: They wake up a lot faster!
With an IV catheter for lets say fluids can be also used to administer emergency drugs.
Good Luck!

my vet reccommends using isoflurane for high-risk dogs (like yorkies). first they initially induce the dog by injecting it with PropoFlo. PropoFlo is a mild sedative that only lasts about 5 minutes, so they can get the tube in (i think)... then they keep the dog asleep by using isoflurane, which is a gas inhalant, not an injection. i am definitely using this method even if its more expensive.

Yes, exactly but I think it should be used for all dogs, not just high risk. Sometimes they do induce with an injectable but it is the one that they use that matters. Propofol is a good one.

Any animal under anesthesia should have an IV in them in case med needs to be given that route.

I was also going to mention the sevo. The new vet I have changed to uses this one. It's a little more expensive but, much more gentle. They are supposed to wake right up without being realy groggy. I was told it's used in geriactric patients.

My vet, who breeds Yorkies, uses the gas only for Yorkies.

when i see threads like this i get all confused. All the hospitals i've ever worked for used a pre-med (different vets use different things), then 20 minutes later the dog is given propofol that lasts long enough to intubate and then the tube is connected to iso or sevo. IV catheters are always used as a precaution, all animals should be on fluids during any procedure that requires anesthesia.

what confuses me is that a lot of people here say things like they have to insist their vet use a gas anesthesia, or to use ISO or Sevo (don't know what else they would use), or that they not use certain pre-medications or anything other then propofol. I just cant believe that vets would do anything other then what i described in my first paragraph. its just not safe. Gas anesthesia should always be used in surgery, not just for high-risk surgeries. They should all be intubated. i just can't comprehend them not doing this. Honestly, is this what some peoples vets do in other parts of the country?

LOL...yes I'd really like to know also. There is no reason not to do it this way. Occasionally dogs are masked down with Iso if this drug poses the least threat to them but usually they are given an injection or a drug via IV and then intubated and then Iso or Sevo is started. If some vets aren't following this, I don't really think they should be practicing...

My baby had an eye surgery ( to remove ingrown hair from the upper lid) a 3.5 days ago. Induction was done with propofol , endothracheal intubation and maintenance with isoflurane. The surgery went ok.

His eye looks completely ok now, he doesn't apper to be in pain anymore, but he seems very tired, and just lays down most of the time.
He eats and drinks ok.


I called the vet on the third day , and they said "the little dogs just need more time to rest after the surgery", and to call back on Monday if this continues.

Per their instructions we are not taking him outside, just 5-10 min in the backyard to potty (We usually go for a walk daily) , and he is wearing e cone, so I think he is also depressed, and sad. . What do you think?

Do the little ones really need more then 3 days to recover from the anesthesia?

Neither of mine have ever taken 3 days to recover from anesthesia- they were usually over the side effects by the next morning.

However, some surgeries are harder to recover from then others. When my Chloe had her liver biopsy she took about a week to perk up again.

Also the cones really seem to bother them- so the lack of activity may just be from that. Are you able to give him any supervised breaks from the cone?

Hopefully your baby perks up soon :)

OMG!!! Thank you sooooo much for your reply!

I didn't even think about taking the cone off. After I read your post I took it off and he instantly perked up! He is running around the house and playing with his toys. Not once he tried to touch his eye! I will stay with him a couple of hours and put the cone back when we are ready to go to sleep.
Will definitelly keep the cone off as much as I can in the next couple of days, until the follow up visit.

Once again, thank you!!!

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.