SMILE - Pre-Anesthesia for a Dental Cleaning

Dental Day commences:

Heidi and the boys have been checked in and are on their way back to the treatment area.  They all get weighed and have their temperature taken.  Blood is drawn from the jugular vein in the neck or the cephalic vein in the forearm.  Usually about 3ml of blood is drawn into two different kinds of tubes.  A CBC (complete blood count) and serum chemistry are performed usually.

Heidi getting her blood drawn from
her jugular vein in her neck.

A CBC looks at the numbers of red and white blood cells and platelets found in the sample.  The hematocrit (HCT) or packed cell volume gives an indication of the amount of red blood cells in the blood as a percentage.  This helps the veterinarian determine if an animal is anemic or dehydrated.  Heidi's hematocrit is always on the high end which can show that she is slightly dehydrated.  She has her bloodwork done every time she has anesthesia, so we are able to see that this high hematocrit is considered normal for her.  The blood chemistry panel can vary as to which chemistries are tested.  Usually there a few tests that look at the kidneys and a few at the liver.

The CBC results.

The serum chemistry results.

Heidi does not like being in a cage!  She is barking at me as I stand there and look at her imprisoned.  She calms down and is fine if I am not around.  As soon as I reappear though, she starts barking at me again.

You can see her cage card on the outside of the cage.  This is important to have on every animal's cage.  It not only identifies the name of the pet, but the sex, the date of arrival and departure, the veterinarian, and the reason for the visit.  DAP is our veterinarian's initials.  F,S means female, spayed.   The little blue squares indicate that she is not to be given water or food.

So, while Heidi's blood goes to the lab to be performed, she gets to lie in her cage and watch the mayhem that is a veterinary office in the morning.

Next up: Pre-anesthetic physical and Pre-medication.