Anaesthesia & Analgesia

The team use an extensive range of monitoring equipment, medications, and facilities for the delivery of safe anaesthesia. All anaesthetic stations are equipped with multi-parameter monitors, and patients are always monitored one-to-one during their anaesthetic procedure. This in-depth monitoring begins the moment the patient receives any sedative drugs and ends when they are awake and returned comfortably to the ward after their procedure. The specific needs of the patient will be communicated clearly to the wards team before the patient is transferred to their care.

Our Promise

The team understand that pet owners are often concerned about the risks of general anaesthesia and the side effects of sedative drugs. In addition, they also understand how worrying it can be for both owners and their pets to attend hospital, particularly if they are in pain.  It is their duty to earn the trust of the pet owner by answering their questions, easing their fears, and providing their pet with the best standard of care.

Pain Management

Pain management is an integral part of the team’s daily work. Each patient that undergoes a surgical procedure, even if it is considered a small procedure, will have their pain levels evaluated against pain scoring systems validated worldwide for dogs and cats. These aid the team in the recognition of acute pain and guide pain management for all patients. 

Chronic Pain

Chronic pain is as important for us as acute pain. This is why we have a pain clinic available, led and run by Sanne Melis MVM DipECVAA MRCVS Anaesthesia & Analgesia, European Specialist in Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia. Sanne provides consultations specifically to discuss and manage chronic pain and offers treatment options such as acupuncture and lifestyle adaptations in addition to conventional medical management. As physiotherapy and hydrotherapy are frequently very beneficial to patients with chronic pain, Sanne works closely with in-house physiotherapists to produce the best possible treatment plan for each patient. 

Anaesthesia and Analgesia Facilities

Our facilities and state-of-the-art equipment help the team to carry out anaesthesia during difficult surgeries and complicated cases in intensive care.

Every anaesthesia station at Pride Veterinary Referrals is equipped with an anaesthesia machine and a multi-parametric monitor. This also includes the MRI and CT suites.

Equipment used daily by the anaesthesia service include:

• Mechanical ventilators capable of providing PEEP and assisted ventilation
• Doppler ultrasound devices
• Syringe and fluid pumps
• HotDog warming machines
• Nerve stimulator-locator (nerve electrolocation locoregional block and neuromuscular blockade monitoring)
• Multi-parameter monitors at all anaesthesia stations
• Warming devices at all stations (instead of ‘HotDog’ bullet point)
• Arterial blood gas analysers
• Direct blood pressure monitors: arterial, central venous and portal pressures
• Neuromuscular function monitors (TOF monitoring)

For further information or if you wish to discuss a case, please email referrals@prideveterinarycentre.co.uk or call 01332 548911.