Mary Allen
Whether it’s removing a lump of skin, castration, or cruciate ligament surgery, owners are always worried about their pets.
Your pet should not eat breakfast the morning before surgery. An empty stomach ensures that vomiting is less frequent if the anesthetics are not tolerated. It also prevents vomiting from entering during sleep. However, your animal can have unlimited access to water at any time.
If your pet needs medication, give it as usual. However, please discuss this with your veterinarian just in case.
Start Your Day Calmly
A short walk before surgery is great. However, you should avoid wild games and exciting situations to keep your pet’s adrenaline levels as low as possible. If you start the day calmly, the pain reliever will work better. Also, plan enough time to get to your practice or clinic.
Don’t Be Afraid of Anesthesia
Your veterinarian will check on the spot if your pet is suitable for anesthesia. You will then be informed about the possible risks of anesthesia and surgery. The risk of anesthesia in veterinary medicine is now very low, but there are factors that make anesthesia more dangerous. Very old, very young, very sick animals and brachycephalic breeds such as the French Bulldog are at increased risk. Therefore, it is always important to weigh the risk of anesthesia versus the need for surgery.
For patients in a particularly critical condition, it is worth choosing a practice or clinic based on their anesthesia technique – inhalation anesthesia is always safer than injection anesthesia. Intubation, i.e. a breathing tube in the windpipe, and venous access should also be standard.
Aftercare in Your Area of Responsibility
After the operation, you should take the animal with you only when it reacts, can walk and the circulatory state is good. It is no longer advisable to give the owner a sleeping animal – well-controlled anesthesia includes an awakening phase. Among other things, because most of the anesthesia incidents occur at this time.
During the trip, your pet should already have leakage protection with them. This can be a collar around the neck. Seam protection is your most important concern. A bodysuit or a collar around the neck should always be worn at home.
Too often, neglect in this area leads to serious complications. And you definitely want to avoid reoperation.
If your animal has recently had surgery, let it stand back and sleep. And even for the next ten days, your animal only needs to move a little so that the wound can heal calmly. Postoperative checkups can then be used to make an individual decision on how quickly your animal can become active again.