06/05/2026
🌟 What We Do Wednesday! 🌟
🩺 Monitor General Anaesthesia 🩺
🐾 General anaesthesia is a state of unconsciousness induced by medications. It allows procedures to be performed that require patients to remain still or those that would otherwise cause pain.
🐾 Although techniques and drug availability have improved hugely in veterinary medicine and anaesthesia is generally extremely safe, medications that affect the cardiovascular and neurological systems carry a degree of inherent risk. It is therefore imperative that animals under anaesthesia are closely monitored throughout.
🐾 At Towcester Vets anaesthesia monitoring is only carried out by Registered Veterinary Nurses or experienced student nurses who have completed their anesthesia lectures and been assessed as competent in practical application of their knowledge.
🐾 Anaesthesia monitoring requires checks to be made on the patient using the nurses eyes, ears and touch as well as a variety of monitoring devices.
🐾 Assessments include checking their heart rate and rhythm, respiratory rate, effort and pattern, depth of anaesthesia, reflexes and temperature. Monitoring devices can also provide information on blood pressure, ECG trace, capnography (levels of carbon dioxide in air moved when breathing) and oxygen saturation.
🐾 Veterinary nurses will discuss findings and courses of action with the case veterinary surgeon in order to ensure the patient remains stable and comfortable throughout.
🐾 The ability to anaesthetise patients provides us with the opportunity to perform many varied procedures necessary for our pets without compromising welfare, and with the excellent skills of our nursing team we can ensure this is undertaken as safely as possible.
