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Anesthesia And Older Dogs


RL1
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I have to agree with Erny and a few others.If it is only cosmetic and not for a life-threatening condition or to resolve a health issue I would not be subjecting the dog to a GA.

It's a bit of both. There are some lumps i'm having cut out just to be sure, though the vet did say in

her opinion they aren't cancer. Also having a few external things cut out.

The vet did assure me she wouldn't put her under if she wasn't in great shape otherwise.

I dropped her off at 8am with the vet nurse, but went back at 9am to have a another chat to the vet.

:cry: OMG!!! You're having your dog undergo GA for a cosmetic procedure for your benefit???

Who are you ? Shaking your head at me. You don't know jack shit about me and what i do for my dogs.

Edited by RottyLover01
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I have to agree with Erny and a few others.If it is only cosmetic and not for a life-threatening condition or to resolve a health issue I would not be subjecting the dog to a GA.

It's a bit of both. There are some lumps i'm having cut out just to be sure, though the vet did say in

her opinion they aren't cancer. Also having a few external things cut out.

The vet did assure me she wouldn't put her under if she wasn't in great shape otherwise.

I dropped her off at 8am with the vet nurse, but went back at 9am to have a another chat to the vet.

:cry: OMG!!! You're having your dog undergo GA for a cosmetic procedure for your benefit???

Who are you ? Shaking your head at me. You don't know jack shit about me and what i do for my dogs.

I only know what you tell me in a public forum and I am staggered by your post. Th th th that's All!

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I only know what you tell me in a public forum and I am staggered by your post. Th th th that's All!

That rock you crawled out of is lonely. Th th th that's all !

Edited by RottyLover01
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I only know what you tell me in a public forum and I am staggered by your post. Th th th that's All!

That rock you crawled out of is lonely. Th th th that's all !

wow, that it extreme given you have posted on a public forum and wanted people to comment :eek:

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RL01, I understand the cosmetic thing - I had some extra lumps and moles removed from Ollie when he had surgery to remove a large tumour that was in the way when he walked - they were growing too and to be honest I just wanted them gone.

You know what you are doing and if the risk is worth it - you will get a broad spectrum of replies when posting on a public forum. Ollie has had cancer since 2005 and mostly has good days but on a few occasions I have posted about his bad days and tend to get the odd person telling me I should do the 'right' thing by him - I am assuming they mean PTS. But I know my dog and I know what is just a bad day as opposed to what will define the end for him.

Don't take other stuff to heart

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The vet did assure me she wouldn't put her under if she wasn't in great shape otherwise.

I dropped her off at 8am with the vet nurse, but went back at 9am to have a another chat to the vet.

Let us know how she went, OK? :eek:

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My Sarge is 9 and he went under GA a couple of weeks ago for a much needed dental. Like JohnSmith and MTD, I was concerned about periodontal risks and it needed to be done for his health. He also had a warty, skin-tag type thing removed at the same time. I wouldn't have risked a GA just for the warty thing though. It took two months to convince me to put him under at all.

Personal choice I think. Hope all goes well with your girl and she's back home bouncing around in no time.

.... I really want to know what procedure she's having now! :eek:

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Our 7 year old Grey had a dental last week. I am always concerned about anaesthetics with him as he had a very severe adverse reaction when he was desexed 4 years ago. I discussed with the vet which anaesthetic to use - he has had 2 since the adverse reaction so we stick to the one we know is safer. We also did pre-anaesthetic bloods as well as IV fluids. The vet also kept him on oxygen until he had fully woken up - flushed the anaesthetic gas out quicker. He woke up like he had been having a snooze on the lounge! Not woozy at all and the best I have ever seen him post anaesthetic. He was even happy to go back in there today for his Cartrophen injection so all in all I don't think it was too stressful! So, if you believe the procedure needs to be done and you trust your vet you should be OK.

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I always worry when I am monitoring old dog anaesthetics but I have assisted with lots of surgeries (mostly dentals) of dogs 10+ and they are generally the most smooth, never find I have any problems.

Right now it's the bl**dy little cav x poodles that give me the most grief with anaesthetics!! :eek:

RottyLover01 if there were multiple lumps and the dog was perfectly healthy I would do it too. One Vet I know removed a lump from their dog, was sure it would be a lipoma- turned out to be mast cell tumour- so you never know.

Mel.

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I always worry when I am monitoring old dog anaesthetics but I have assisted with lots of surgeries (mostly dentals) of dogs 10+ and they are generally the most smooth, never find I have any problems.

Right now it's the bl**dy little cav x poodles that give me the most grief with anaesthetics!! :heart:

RottyLover01 if there were multiple lumps and the dog was perfectly healthy I would do it too. One Vet I know removed a lump from their dog, was sure it would be a lipoma- turned out to be mast cell tumour- so you never know.

Mel.

Agree! We quite often do surgeries on older animals - its the older ones who commonly need dentals for foul teeth, or the little warts that can pop up all over the place. I monitor pretty much every anaesthetic we do and I've never seen anything die under GA. We do pre-anaesthetic bloods on the older ones, and whilst they are all fine, we go ahead.

I operated on our golden retriever when she was about 13, to have a lipoma taken off. All very straight forward.

I don't think its right for people to judge others on what procedures that are having done. I totally understand removing lumps etc that are unsightly, even if they are completely benign.

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All is well. :heart: I picked her up at 5pm. She walked by herself to the car.

She came through fine, no problems at all. The vet said she walking around at 3pm.

What an amazing difference in her condition compared to her last anesthesia op she had

done through a different local vet last year. Last year she had a lump removed from her eye lid ( i posted

a thread in the photo section ) and she was a mess all night, couldn't even walk or move. This was the

reason i was concerned. After seeing the state of her last year.

Just goes to show there are good vets and there are crap vets.

Today she had a large skin tag removed from the stomach area, another lump above the eye removed, a

skin tag removed from her leg, her nails cut back and about 4 - 5 other lumps from inside cut out, in different

spots.

She goes back in 10 days to get stitches out.

Did she have to have any of this done today ? No. Was it right to put her under ? Yes and no. Most would say no.

But for my own peace of mind i wanted some of these lumps removed and was confident in the vets ability.

I'll post some photos of the areas later if i can.

I was a little surprised at the bill though. A good surprise really.

Edited by RottyLover01
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We routinely anaesthetise 16, 17 and even 18 year old dogs for cataract surgery. They cope fine. :heart:

Haven't lost one yet *touch wood*.

Last anaesthetic death we had was 3 years ago, was a dog that (MRI showed) had a massive seizure while under anaesthetic. He was a healthy 5 year old dog.

Sometimes, there are no rules.

Glad your dog is ok.

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in the positions they were in better to have removed now ... I dont consider that a cosmetic procedure considering if the lumps decide to grow and restrict movement or quality of life later when she is not up for an anaesthetic then you're stuck between a rock and a hard place.

I think you did the right thing, and yes, a good anaesthetic is worth the money :rofl:

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Rottylover01, I am glad you started this thread as I will have to make a decision like that soon. My 10year old Rott has a growth in the corner of his eye. According to my vet it is nothing to worry about but if it gets to the stage where it is annoying my boy then he will remove it. I am not looking forward to that time but having read your story, do not feel so bad.

Thanks

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Rottylover01, I am glad you started this thread as I will have to make a decision like that soon. My 10year old Rott has a growth in the corner of his eye. According to my vet it is nothing to worry about but if it gets to the stage where it is annoying my boy then he will remove it. I am not looking forward to that time but having read your story, do not feel so bad.

Thanks

My old girl had to go under for an op last year for a growth on her eye lid. She didn't come out too

well, which was why i was a bit concerned this time.

BUT

I changed vets and the difference all round is amazing. This time she had more procedures done, but

came out of it 100% better. She was wide awake and walked to the car at 5pm that day.

Last year she was a mess, couldn't stand up at all that night and had problems for 3.5 weeks

until i changed vets.

I now have found a vet who i have complete trust in her ability and knowledge. She's fantastic.

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