Is anesthesia dangerous?
Anesthesia in veterinary medicine carries with it some risks, just as it does in human medicine. There is a risk of death, as with any other endeavor in life. However, the risk is extremely small even in very debilitated pets, as we have excellent anesthetic drugs and monitoring devices available at our disposal. Thus, it is for the client to weigh the benefits of a procedure under anesthesia against the inherent risks involved with this operation. Most importantly, we do not feel that living with chronic pain is a quality-life existence. In these circumstances in particular, we believe that if an anesthetic procedure can lessen the pain a pet may be experiencing, even if the pet is elderly or debilitated and thus at “high risk” for anesthesia, it should be performed. Further precautionary measures such as pre-anesthetic bloodwork and intravenous fluids can greatly increase the chances for a successful operation under anesthesia and are highly recommended by our staff.
