Sedation and General Anesthesia for your pet’s surgical procedure.
Palm Bay Animal Clinic is as safe as possible when it comes to sedation and anethesia tailoring the type of medication to each pet
We understand that many pet owners have concerns about procedures involving
sedation
Sedation A sedative is any agent that calms nervousness,
irritability, and excitement. The degree of relaxation produced depends on the type and amount of
sedative medication used as well as the mental state of the patient.
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or
anesthesia
Anesthesia The loss of feeling or sensation. A variety of
medications can be used to induce a patient into a state that allows the performance of surgery
or other procedures that would cause pain in an awake patient.
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.
Our veterinarians will always discuss why the use of sedatives or general anesthesia
is recommended for your pet’s procedure. Also, there are many ways that we can make anesthesia safer for our pets.
First, our veterinarians recommend pre-anesthetic
blood testing to screen for underlying
medical problems, especially in older pets. We use the safest anesthetics available and tailor the type of
medication used to each pet's specific needs. During anesthesia, our staff monitors your pet's heart rate,
respiratory rate, and temperature. In older patients or for longer
procedures, our veterinarians may
recommend having an
IV catheter
IV (intravenous) Catheter This refers to the placement of
a small, flexible, tubular instrument that is passed into a vein (typically in the forelimb) and
secured there to provide a port that allows delivery of fluids, nutrition, or blood products
directly into the bloodstream.
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in place to administer
fluids
Fluids The maintenance of a proper balance between the intracellular
and extracellular fluids is essential to the health of your pet. It is sometimes necessary to supplement the
body with fluids in order to help restore the balance.
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which support blood pressure and provide direct access for injections of medication as needed.
The medications used by our veterinarians for sedation and anesthesia are also selected to provide for the shortest possible recovery time. This means that in most cases, your pet will be able to return home from the hospital the same day as their procedure. In order to allow enough time for proper recovery, most procedures requiring sedation or anesthesia are performed in the morning, so we ask that your pet be dropped off at the hospital between 7:45-8:30 AM.
Please feel free to call and check on your pet, or a member of our staff will let you know what time they can be picked up that afternoon.
