Your Dog's Going Under Anesthesia. Should You Be Worried?

Anesthesia is a well-established part of medicine, and its use has saved lives and made many difficult medical procedures easier for all parties.

Essentially, anesthesia is a temporary state during which someone loses awareness or feeling in their body.

This medical practice has become so commonplace that even veterinary medicine has adopted it, and pups are placed under anesthesia for surgeries and other procedures. As the years progress, opinions have become somewhat divided regarding the safety of using anesthesia. Some feel that the risk of losing a pet to anesthesia is too great.

However, it’s important to take note of the facts. A study conducted in a Brazilian hospital over a period of eight years showed that 16 in 10,000 patients passed away during surgery, and all these deaths were caused by existing disease or other patient complications. None of these deaths were caused by anesthesia. In 2012, another study was conducted regarding anesthetic deaths is cats and dogs. It was found that among healthy pets, only 0.12% passed away due to anesthesia.

Pulse oximeters and EKGs can help prevent the rare case of anesthetic death, and it is within your discretion to decide if you feel comfortable with your vet’s abilities to administer anesthesia and care for your pup accordingly. Naturally, as a pup parent, you have a right to ask your vet questions about anesthesia monitoring and recovery.

Weight the risks and benefits and listen carefully to what your vet advises. If the administration of anesthesia can save your pup’s life, it’s more than worth it. Do like and share this if you found it informative or useful!