BEFORE THE PROCEDURE
A general anaesthetic involves 
hospitalisation of your pet for the day. 
Admission is required on the morning 
of the day of the procedure.  Your pet 
must be fasted from 9pm the night 
before.  Our staff will advise 
appropriate fasting details.  This is 
extremely important as a full stomach 
may cause serious problems whilst 
under the anaesthetic.

Our staff will examine your pet once 
it has been admitted to our hospital 
ward.

We recommend carrying out a pre-
anaesthetic blood profile.  This involves 
taking a small amount of blood from 
the leg or neck.  This test allows us to 
view the functions of internal organs 
that in many cases can't be assessed 
externally.  The test will highlight 
any abnormalities that may affect how 
your pet copes with the anaesthetic. 
Our nurse will discuss this option 
with you.

If the results of the tests are normal, 
a sedative is given to your pet to help 
settle them into our hospital ward 
before the general anaesthetic.

THE PROCEDURE
In most cases, your pet will be 
anaesthetised using an intravenous 
injection.  The anaesthetic is then 
maintained using gas via a tube placed 
in your pet's airway.  Your pet's 
breathing and heartbeat are monitored
carefully throughout.

During recovery, oxygen may be 
administered until your pet regains 
consciousness. Monitoring continues
until your pet is fully awake. 
Occasionally, there may be some 
unsteadiness, nausea or throat 
irritation (which may last for several 
hours).

AFTER THE PROCEDURE
We request that you phone the 
hospital later in the day to check on
the progress of your pet and to 
arrange discharge by our duty 
veterinarian or nurse.  They will discuss
with you home care, revisit 
requirements and follow-up events.