Wow, what a scary situation! I'm so glad he's ok. I'd do as much research as I could on the internet. I certainly understand your concern for any further anesthesia. Good Luck with everything, hopefully you'll get some good suggestions from everyone here.

So, the vet's office calls me and to say they got the blood test and the urine test back on Johnny Cash and that all the levels are normal so the doctor wants to reschedule the neutering for two weeks from now.

So I say, "Yeah, but what about the x-rays?" The assistant says "X-rays?" And I say "Yes, the X-rays that I paid for...that the vet told me Johnny Cash needed...that you sent out to the radiologist on Wednesday. Nobody has called me with the results of those x-rays" She says "Oh, it doesn't say anything about x-ray results here." I say "So you're suggesting I reschedule the appointment BEFORE the doctor has received the results of the x-rays you ordered?" Despite NOT getting neutered, I still had to pay for all the catheters, the anesthesia, all that stuff PLUS the x-rays, blood and urine tests for a total of $420. Now they want me to reschedule ANOTHER neutering at, I presume, another $300 in just two weeks.

I love my vet, but this is just pissing me off. This is the third call I've gotten about rescheduling and I've already expressed three times my fears of getting him neutered now. They're so eager and it's pissing me off.

~ Kelly

Oh, Kelly, my heart goes out to you - I would be so scared too. I really wouldn't know what to do either. Are there any vets on this board?

I would ask them:

- What would they use to reverse the IV anesthesia (Narcon or ?)
- Why do they think IV is safer in this case?
- Did they use a barbituate w/ the gas? (bc they shouldn't have)
- Is there any such thing as a non-anesthesia option using a combo of an epidural, pain killer, and muscle relaxant? (not likely, but worth an ask?)
- What is the incidence of prostate cancer in non-altered males?

Tough decision. I wonder if it would help to wait until he's a year old...?

Btw, you're close to me - I live in Phoenix!

Mugzy is getting neutered tomorrow and now I'm really scared...I will ask about allergies to anesthesia.

I agree with you...I would rather take the chance of prostate cancer in ten years than lose him now.

First make sure that they are using gas WITHOUT barbituates. Secondly, see if they can do a "test" of the gas on him first to see if he has any adverse reaction. I would imagine they would give him a small dose before they give him the full dose when he's waiting for the procedure to start and see if he whitens (the interior of his mouth). Cash was under 4 minutes when they noticed his mouth went white.

By the way, I learned today that my vet DID use barbiturates for the pre-anesthesic ("Torbi"?)

I tried to do a search on this site to find out why barbs are bad and the search feature isn't working because nothing came up, yet I've seen the word before on this board.

Anyway, can someone fill me in on why barbs are bad and what the alternative is? Could this have been Cash's problem even though he was already under Anesthesia 4 minutes by the time he started to lose respiration?

~ Kelly