Why is blood work necessary before an anesthetic procedure is completed on my pet?
As in human medicine, the anesthetics available for our companion pets are extremely safe. As a result, the anesthetic risk is greatly minimized for a “healthy” pet. However, if your pet is not “healthy,” complications can occur both during and after the procedure. To minimize this potential risk, it is vital that we know your pet’s complete health status before we administer an anesthetic. Testing before anesthetic procedures can significantly reduce medical risk and ensure your pet’s health and safety. A healthy appearing pet may be hiding symptoms of a disease or ailment. For example, a pet can lose up to 75% of kidney function before showing any signs of illness. Even with pets under 1 year of age, we have seen abnormalities with our own personal pets here at Meadow Hills. If the blood work is normal we can proceed with confidence, knowing the anesthetic risk is minimized. On the other hand, if results are not within normal ranges, we will make the necessary changes with the anesth
