Pre anaesthetic testing helps us to care for your pet. We recommend it before placing your pet under anaesthetic. As in human medicine the anaesthetics available are extremely safe and as a result the risk is greatly minimised on a healthy animal. However, if your pet is not “healthy” complications can occur both during and after the anaesthetic procedure. Therefore in order to minimise the potential risk associated with anaesthetic, it is important we know the complete health status before placing him or her under anaesthetic.
Prior to anaesthetic we will obtain your pet’s medical history. However, to understand the “overall” health, we like to perform Blood Chemistry and Electrolyte tests.
The standard Pre-Anaesthetic Panel (PAP) tests done in-house at GVH include Blood Chemisty, Electrolytes and Haematocrit. These provide information concerning your pet’s vital organs, such as the liver, kidneys, pancreas, gastro-intestinal tract. Electrolytes are important in evaluating vomiting, diarrhoea, dehydration and cardiac symptoms, while the haematocrit provides information on the amount of red blood cells present in the blood and is used to diagnose anaemia. These results, normal or otherwise, will also form a baseline profile for comparison at a later date.
Although performing these tests cannot guarantee the absence of complications, it can significantly minimise the risk involved with having an anaesthetic and provide you and us with peace of mind.
