What are Pre-Anesthetic Blood testing and Intra-Operative fluids?
Our first concern is always your pets health. Before placing your pet under a general anaesthetic we will weigh them and peform a complete physical examination to ensure they are in good health. Whilst the physical exam is important, it may not probide a complete picture of your pets health. To minimise the risk associated with a general anesthetic we recommend Pre-anaesthetic blood testing (PAB) and intravenous fluid therapy (IOFT). These are recomendations and are not compulsory.
PAB testing provides an insight into what is happening internally and may uncover health concerns that cannot be detected by a physical exam alone, in younger pets this can include tick fever which causes the blood to lose its clotting abilities. This is done prior to the sedation of your pet. If all is normal then we go ahead with the surgery, however, if an abnomality is found we will contact you and we may change the anesthetic to suit your pet or delay the procedure if necessary.
IOFT assists in maintaining your pets blood pressure during the procedure and helps improve recovery from anaesthetic. It also helps keep them hydrated and supports the liver and kidney functions.
While these measures cannot guarantee the absence of complications, they do minimise the risks during and after the anaesthetic.
Please note that these are not included in the price of castrations or speys and are quoted for as additional items.
Why should you Microchip your pet?
By law, microchipping is compulsory for both dogs and cats that are registered within the Darwin City, Palmerston and litchfield council municipality. We recommend this procedure regardless of age, breed or locality. Even if your pet does not have a history of wandering, there are various reasons why they may end up lost or wandering. The benefits of microchipping are that your pet can be quickly identified anywhere in Australia, 24hrs a day, 7 days a week. It is a once off cost and is a quick and easy procedure that can also be done at the same time as a vaccination, spey or castrate. The other benfit is that tags can be lost, damaged, chewed or become unreadable, however, microchips stay with your pet for life. It is also very important to update your details if they ever change.