Preanesthetic Evaluation

You have made an appointment with us for a procedure on your pet. Whether it’s a complex abdominal surgery or a simple dental cleaning, your pet will need to be anesthetized for the procedure.

Proper preparation for a procedure under anesthesia begins at home. The day before the procedure, your pet should not eat anything after 6:00 p.m. You may leave the water bowl out. The next morning, please bring your pet between 8:00 and 8:30 a.m. Please walk your dog beforehand!

When you leave your pet with us, you do so with the (justified) expectation that he or she will receive the best possible medical care. That is why we always perform a physical examination before putting the animal to sleep. In particular, we pay close attention to the heart and lungs.

However, a physical examination alone does not reveal all possible problems. That is why it is important to supplement the physical examination with blood tests, so that we have a clear and complete picture of your pet’s health before we begin.

Just as in human medicine, anesthetics used in veterinary medicine are very safe. The risks associated with anesthesia are therefore minimal for a healthy animal. However, if there are any health issues (unknown to you and us), anesthesia may cause certain problems.

The liver and kidneys, in particular, play a crucial role in breaking down and excreting anesthetics. That is why we would like to know in advance how these organs function in our patients.If the blood test results are normal, our team can confidently anesthetize your pet and begin the procedure. If the results are abnormal, this may lead to the selection of a different anesthetic agent, and in some cases, to postponing the procedure so that the identified abnormality can be treated first.

If you do NOT wish to have a blood test performed prior to anesthesia, please let us know when you bring your pet in!

After the procedure, the treating veterinarian will call you. He or she will discuss with you how everything went and what, if anything, needs to be done next. Of course, you can also ask any questions that have come to mind in the meantime.

Normally, our patients go home the same day. We believe that an animal feels most comfortable in its own environment and that it recovers fastest at home. For cases in which it is not safe for an animal to go home, we have extensive hospitalization and nursing care facilities.

You can pick up your pet between 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. You will usually be given a letter that reiterates the instructions for follow-up care. Experience has shown that many people appreciate having the recommendations—which were already discussed during the phone call with the veterinarian—put in writing.