Nightmare

My healthy 10 year old cat went in for a routine teeth cleaning last week and died while under anesthesia. He stopped breathing on his own then his heart stopped. The Dr. revived him and he began to breath on his own and his heart rate was back to normal. An hour later his heart stopped again the Dr. could not revive him. The only explanation the vet speculated was that he had an allergic reaction to the cocktail. He said this was the only incident he has ever encountered in 30 years of practice.

- He had blood work and physical was done prior.

- Cat did not have any heath problems. In fact he was in particularly good shape. Not over weight or under weight. (10 pounds which was ideal for his size)

- He was on oxygen and ekg for the proceedure

- Vet used ketamine and used slightly less than the recommended dosage for his weight

- The cat had been put under 3 times previously before with ketamine for teeth cleaning and an extraction. However it has been 4 years since the last time he was anesthetized.

Has anyone out there experienced this and or have an idea what could have gone wrong?

Sincerely,

someone with a broken heart

Oh wow, I am so, so, so sorry for your loss. :heart2: I can't imagine how devastating something like that is. :hug:

This has happened to others. It sometimes happens to kitties when being spayed or neutered. There is no perfect anesthesia - there is always a risk. Ketamine happens to have more than some, and some vets no longer use it. If your kitty had an undetected heart problem, that might have been the cause - and heart problems don't really show up in blood work. There is a specific test that checks for enzymes related to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), but unless there's a reason to suspect it, it's not a standard test.

Here is a post from someone in a thread from 2010 discussing ketamine:

Pookie-poo said:

Ketamine has been around a long time, and most vets are familiar with it's use. It's relatively inexpensive to use, and most vets are aware of it's benefits and risks. Propofol has been around for about 20 years in human anesthesia medicine. I don't know when it was introduced to the veterinary community for anesthesia induction. It is quite a bit more expensive than Ketamine (at least in the O.R. where I work, so I am assuming it must be more expensive in a veterinary practice.)


I prefer to not use Ketamine because it can cause a significant increase of bloodpressure, elevated heart rate and respiratory depression. CRF cats often have elevated blood pressure to begin with, and Cleo also has a heart murmur. Ketamine is also contraindicated in pets with liver disease, and kidney disease. It is metabolized slowly, so it has a prolonged action. It can also cause seizures. I would prefer something much faster acting, much shorter acting, more kidney friendly, and causes so many fewer side effects, such as Propofol.

http://www.petplace.com/drug-library...ket/page1.aspx

http://cats.about.com/cs/anesthesia/...standing_2.htm

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This was the thread with the discussion: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/211822/the-do-not-use-drugs-list-at-the-vets-office-whats-yours


Again, I'm so so so so so so sorry. :heart2:

now I feel even worse after reading the thread

Oh, please, please, please, don't feel bad. Anesthesia is a terribly complicated subject and, normally, when something goes wrong unexpectedly, there is nothing simple or clear cut about it. 

I have a few articles I'd like to share with you. Hopefully you will find them helpful.

Here - the title of the article is

Cat Died Following Neuter Surgery

you'll find advice from a vet I believe you should absolutely follow up on

http://www.iluvcats.com/vomitingcat.html

(I did notice that the web address to this article

makes no sense at all)

Other info - there is something in every one of these articles worth reading

http://www.dogcatsurgery.com/four-veterinary-secrets.html

http://www.cathospitalofchicago.com/online-cat-health-library/anesthesia-and-use-of-anesthetic-agents-at-cat-hospital-of-chicago/

http://www.newportharborvets.com/veterinary_articles/is-anesthesia-safe-for-my-cat.html

I'm also very, very sorry for your loss. My heart goes out to you.

Violet said:

Oh, please, please, please, don't feel bad. Anesthesia is a terribly complicated subject and, normally, when something goes wrong unexpectedly, there is nothing simple or clear cut about it.

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I SO did not mean to make you feel worse!!!! I was trying to help you understand what happened. :heart2:

As Violet says, Anesthesia is a terribly complicated subject. Ketamine is used all the time, often without incident. As are many antibiotics, flea treatments, parasite treatments, etc. Problems are rare, and that's why these treatments/medicines/anesthetics are generally considered safe. But for that one-in-a-million, there can be a problem, with absolutely NO WAY to anticipate it. Your vet did everything right - blood work was done before the sedation - there was no way for anyone to know this tragedy would happen.