From Stage 0 to 3: Injectable Induction Agents – New and OldGeneral anesthesia provides us with unconciousness, amnesia, analgesia, muscle relaxation, and the ability to perform various procedures in our veterinary patients. The use of injectable anesthetic agents allows us to get our patients from premeded-awake to surgical plane of anesthesia, while minimizing the use of inhalant anesthesia and its associated cardiovascular and respiratory depression. This article discusses the more common induction single and combo agents. Read More
Old school and new school in airway managementStephen Cital RVT, SRA, RLAT United Veterinary Specialty and Emergency, Oakland Zoo, San Francisco Zoo Posted on 2016-09-22 It feels like every year we are bombarded with new products that will “revolutionize” the way Read More
Wakin’ up is hard to doThe risk for anesthesia-related complications or death does not end when the vaporizer dial is turned off. In fact, it can be argued that the greatest risk occurs during the recovery period. Equal vigilance is required during anesthetic recovery. Read More
“My dog is geriatric, so I shouldn’t anesthetize him.” Fact or fiction?The short answer is fiction, “age itself is not a disease.” Many times I have heard, “why are we anesthetizing this 17-year-old dog?”, only to have them do amazing under anesthesia and be better than before. Read More
Taking indirect blood pressuresAppropriate systemic arterial blood pressure is vital for survival in any species. In practice, we are faced with many reasons and conditions to obtain and interpret a patient’s blood pressure, such as anesthesia, cardiovascular disease and kidney disease. This post provides tips to ensure accurate BP measurement. Read More
Wet and wild: Aquatic animal anesthesia basicsThis blog touches on the basics of fish and amphibian general anesthesia. Species anatomy and physiology will be lightly covered, along with considerations when choosing a general anesthetic agent. Read More
Interventional analgesia: Part IIAs veterinary pain management becomes more like human pain management in offering patients a broader range of strategies for the treatment of acute and chronic pain, the interventional strategies and the techniques described below will become more commonplace. Read More
Interventional analgesia, part IInterventional pain management in animals is an application of image-guided procedures which benefit veterinary patients with both acute and chronic pain. This 2-part series provides an overview of interventional analgesia in animals. Read More
Perioperative hypothermiaBody temperature is closely maintained in mammals around an optimal set point at which ideal cellular function can occur. This is a complex process that ultimately results in a balance between heat production and heat loss. The hypothalamus acts as the main regulator of this process with multiple sensors throughout the body. Read More
