Safety in Pet Anesthesia-Dr. Don DeForge

Donald H. DeForge, VMD

Milford Veterinary Hospital at Silver Sands
House Call Veterinarian Connecticut
Silver Sands Veterinary Urgent Care

17 Seemans Lane

Milford, CT 06460

P-203-877-3221

E-Mail DoctorDeForge@yahoo.com

DonDeForge100@gmail.com

www.SilverSandsVeterinary.com

A Safe Journey for Your Pet Under Anesthesia

Dr. DeForge follows the pre-anesthesia examination and testing requisites recommended by the American College of Veterinary Anesthesia with risk grading and monitoring guidelines.  
He will provide the same care as given to a child in your home undergoing anesthesia in a human hospital.  Dr. DeForge understands your pets are your children!

Companion animal advocates are very concerned when

 the pet that they love needs to undergo general

 inhalation anesthesia for any reason.

 
The ultimate goals of veterinary preoperative medical

 assessment and human preoperative assessment are

 identical.  The goal of exam and testing is to reduce the

 patient’s surgical and anesthetic peri-operative

 morbidity or mortality, and to return the patient to

 normal functioning and a pain free quality of life as

 quickly as possible.

 It is imperative to realize that anesthesia risk and

 recovery from anesthesia risk is multi-factorial and a

 function of the preoperative medical condition of the

 patient; the invasiveness of the surgical procedure; and

 the type of anesthetic administered.

A history and physical examination is critical with

 emphasis on risk factors for cardiac and pulmonary

 complications.  Laboratory investigations must be

 ordered based on the patient’s age; medical status; drug

 therapy; or the nature of the proposed procedure.

 Those veterinary patients with co-morbidity should be

 optimized for the procedure.  Proper consultations with

 appropriate medical specialists should be scheduled to

 improve the patient’s health prior to anesthesia if

 indicated.

These consultations should ideally not be done in a "last

 second" fashion. The pre-operative preparation involves

 procedures that are implemented based on the nature of

 the expected operation as well as the findings of the

 diagnostic workup and the pre-operative evaluation.

 

 Listed below are many of the tests that Dr. DeForge may order based on the age of the patient; pre-existing medical health of the patient; and/or other factors noted in past Medical Records.  

It is critical to know if any patient referred has had any adverse history with anesthesia, sedation, and/or analgesic medicines in the past.

The Pre-Anesthesia Testing  Module choices will be determined by the veterinarian or anesthesiologist that will be anesthetizing the friend that you love.  Not all of the testing below is performed on each patient.  Discuss your doctor's testing choices based on age; past anesthesia history; any present medical problems; the obese state; or present problems being treated.

Pre-Anesthesia Testing Modules

[          } Physical Exam

[          ] Comprehensive Chemistry Profile and CBC

[          ] Urinalysis

[          ] Cat Leukemia-Immunodef.-and Bartonella Testing
             
[          ] CardioPet proBNP / Feline and Canine

[          ] SDMA Biomarker for Kidney Function 

[          ] Blood Pressure

[          ] Coagulation Testing [PT/PTT/BMBT]

[          ] Electrocardiogram-EKG-Cardiologist Interp.

[          ] Chest Radiology-Radiologist Interp.

[          ] Echocardiogram-if cardiac disease is expected

[          ] Abdominal Sonogram-when indicated

[          ] Internal Medicine Consult select patients

[          ] Come Cardiologist Consult-In cardiac patients


Common Questions Asked about Animal

Anesthesia:

1] Are anesthesia complications common?

There are horror stories on the internet that just are not fact.  

Some internet sites offer reliable and useful information from

veterinary specialists....many others contain inconsistencies 

and flat out falsities.  Don't be fooled by misinformation.  Do 

research on anesthesia; read articles from veterinary univer-

sity sources and discuss your findings with Dr. DeForge
  
A well trained veterinary team will take

every reasonable precaution including state of the art

monitoring equipment with trained veterinary nurses for

patient evaluation under anesthesia.


2] The drugs my doctor uses for anesthesia may hurt my

 pet?

Sit down with Dr. DeForge and have them describe all

of the drugs to be used and why they have been

selected.

Dr. DeForge chooses an anesthesia protocol

to meet each patient's needs based on the patient's

procedure; time predicted under anesthesia; the age of the

patient; other medical conditions present prior to anesthesia;

and general overall health of your pet.  Don't forget to ask 

about the monitoring equipment and how your pet is 

recovered after anesthesia.


Don't let friends, gossip, or the internet prevent your pet

from receiving necessary care with general anesthesia.

Let Dr. DeForge be your guide!