New AAHA Anesthesia Guidelines

Every now and then a conversation comes up regarding the pre-testing of pets that are about to undergo surgical procedures using anesthesia.  Thought this might be helpful.

http://www.avma.org/onlnews/javma/jan12/120115o.asp

Excerpt:

The American Animal Hospital Association has released guidelines on anesthesia for dogs and cats.

"Anesthesia includes more than the selection of anesthetic drugs," according to the document. "A comprehensive individualized anesthetic plan will minimize perioperative morbidity and optimize perioperative conditions."

My vet does pretesting for any animal that is considered a senior, as the plan and how it is monitored is more important as they age. Not sure about cats, but there are some dog breeds that react very differently to anesthesia than others (greyhounds for example). It's probably a good thing to discuss with your vet before any procedure involving anesthesia.

Thanks for the reference Mike.

My vet recommends pre-op blood work for animals of any age undergoing anesthesia.  This is how we found Cleo's CRF, when we did pre-spay bloodwork at 6 months old.  Cleo will be 12 years old in May.  We've been VERY successful keeping her renal failure under control...and it started with being able to know which kidney friendly anesthesia agents to use for her spay.

Thanks for the friendly reminder Mike!  I too, am a big advocate for pre-testing!