ALL of our surgeries use the inhalational anaesthetic agent Sevoflurane. This drug is considered to be one of the safest agents available for use in human and animal patients. Unfortunately it is one of the more expensive anaesthetic agents that means it is not always used in human hospitals. We believe the added cost is outweighed by the drugs safety.
It should be remembered that there is always a risk when anaesthetising patients, even in seemingly healthy animals/people.
To reduce the risk of anaesthetic complications, animals are monitored by a number of different methods.
Firstly, a nurse will keep written records of drugs administered and an animals parameters such as heart rate, respiratory rate and reflexes present throughout the anaesthetic.
All of our surgeries have pulse oximeters. These are machines that measure the oxygenation of the blood and can alert us to problems with the anaesthetic. We also use breathing monitors at all surgeries that alarm if an animal stops taking breaths.
In addition, our theatres at Walnut Tree have human standard monitors that are capable of measuring blood pressure and monitoring the electrical activity of the heart as well as the concentration of carbon dioxide gas exhaled.
It should be remembered that there is always a risk when anaesthetising patients, even in seemingly healthy animals/people. 