Preanaesthetic Testing

You trust us to care for your pet, and our first concern will always be your pet’s health. Before placing him/her under anaesthesia, we will do everything possible to ensure he/she is healthy. We will perform a complete physical examination to look for any existing medical conditions that might complicate the procedure or compromise your pet’s health. As in human medicine, while the physical exam is important, it cannot provide a complete picture of a pet’s physical condition. Consequently, pre-anaesthetic testing is important as it provides insight into what is occurring internally. This testing could uncover health concerns which cannot be detected from the physical exam alone.

At our hospital we don’t believe in taking risks with your pet’s health. We perform pre-anaesthetic testing for companion animals for the same reasons your doctor would run tests on you before you underwent anaesthesia. In fact, the tests are quite similar. The test profile includes:

  • Complete Blood Count- Anaemia, infection/inflammation, potential clotting defects
  • Urea and Creatinine – Kidney disease or dehydration
  • ALKP and ALT – Liver disease
  • Total Protein – Dehydration, Liver disease, Blood Loss
  • Glucose – Diabetes, Liver shunt

While these tests do not guarantee the absence of complications, they do minimise the possibility of complications during and after anaesthesia. Our goal is to provide you and your family with the peace of mind, you expect and deserve.

While the choice is yours, we feel strongly that a pre-anaesthetic profile is very important to your pet’s health.