Am I being too picky?

I got some answers back from my vet regarding their spay/neuter procedures. They are all good for the most part, except there are a few I am concerned about that they don't do.

She said they do not give IV fluids to support blood pressure, they do not monitor heart rate, blood oxygenation levels, or blood pressure throughout the surgery. To me this sounds like something that SHOULD be monitored.

I am thinking of finding another place to do her spay. I will ask around until I get the right answers. What do you think?

Also, she says they prescribe Buprenex for pain medication, anyone familiar with this or have used it before?

ummm i'm pretty sure monitoring heart rate and breathing is standard procedure, so if a vet isn't doing that i'd be concerned.

Originally Posted by KittehTime

ummm i'm pretty sure monitoring heart rate and breathing is standard procedure, so if a vet isn't doing that i'd be concerned.

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I did e-mail them back asking why they feel it is not necessary to do this. I will not be having them do her spay if they don't do it, I am just curious, and hoping it was a typo/misunderstanding in the e-mail. I can't imagine how that wouldn't be important.

It takes some pretty advanced equipment to monitor those things during surgery. Only the large fancy animal hospitals are likely to have that kind of thing. I don't think any vet I've ever used for spays/neuters had that stuff. I'm sure they listen to the cat's heart rate and check them to make sure they're breathing OK, but constant electronic monitoring isn't standard for routine surgeries.

I don't think any of my pets got IV fluids, either, but I never asked.

It's actually quite common to do it the way this vet is. All my cats, my many fosters and even more TNR'd strays have been spayed and neutered without IV fluids and monitoring of heart rate and blood pressure. It's nice to have the extra stuff but it's costly which is why it's usually not done. If you are able to spend the extra money you should be able to find a larger animal hospital that has the equipment needed. I'm pretty sure that Banfield do give IV fluids and monitors the heart during all general anesthesia procedures. But if your cat is young and healthy she should be fine being spayed without the extra frills. The vets do it all the time and knows what they are doing.

Buprenex is the brand name for buprenorphine which is an opiate. It's very good for pain control for cats. I would be happy with that. They usually use Tramadol, in my experience, but Buprenex is similar to Tramadol and would probably work better if the pain is severe.
I'm curious though, is the Buprenex going to be given to her at the hospital or is it something you will be sent home with after the procedure? If so it's important to know how to give it and in my experience vets often don't explain this well. So, just FYI, Buprenorphine is not absorbed in the stomach like most medications so if it's swallowed it's useless. It has to be absorbed by the mucus membranes in the mouth. It comes in a liquid that you have to put on the gums slowly so that it's absorbed and not swallowed. Fortunately the dose is pretty small so it doesn't take that long but it can be a bit tricky if kitty is not cooperative. The alternative is giving her an injection sub-q. I have two cats that take buprenorphine regularly and that's how I give it to them. It's so much easier.
If you think that giving a pill would be easier I'd ask for Tramadol.

oooh good info ziggy'smom!