mysticpaw Posted April 13, 2011 Share Posted April 13, 2011 Hi Did a search and didn't find anything. Was just talking to my daughter, her friend is having her new pup desexed soon. She asked if I had heard of paying for a pre test to see if a dog/cat may be allergic to anaesthetic. I hadn't heard of it before and was wondering if it was a normal thing now. The quote was $100. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss B Posted April 13, 2011 Share Posted April 13, 2011 I'm assuming they are talking about a pre-anaesthetic blood screen? It checks white and red blood cells, platelets, kidney and liver function, electrolytes etc. This test is commonly offered as an 'optional extra' for patients undergoing surgery. $100 is a bit pricey though, all of the clinics I have worked at have charged around $70 to $75. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asalei Posted April 13, 2011 Share Posted April 13, 2011 I've always had it done with mine, just so you also have a base line to look back on for results if you need to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff'n'Toller Posted April 13, 2011 Share Posted April 13, 2011 The last clinic I worked at that had in-house pathology charged $65 - that was 7 years ago so $100 is probably reasonable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mysticpaw Posted April 13, 2011 Author Share Posted April 13, 2011 Sounds like it's a common practice then. Would like to know more on the reasons for doing this if anyone can point me in the right direction. It sort of came across as a guilt trip for my daughters friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staranais Posted April 13, 2011 Share Posted April 13, 2011 Sounds like it's a common practice then.Would like to know more on the reasons for doing this if anyone can point me in the right direction. It sort of came across as a guilt trip for my daughters friend. An apparently healthy dog can suffer from lots of health issues that can make an anaesthetic riskier - things like liver damage or kidney disease could mean that the dog will be less able to process or excrete the anaesthetic agent, for example. If a blood test reveals an issue that might make the anaesthetic risker, different drugs can be used, the dog can be put on fluids or monitored differently, or the procedure could just not be done. Most clinics offer pre-anaesthetic bloods as an extra for apparently healthy adult dogs, as if it was automatically included in the price of an anaesthetic it could push the price up so high that some people would not want the surgery at all. It needs to be offered though, since sometimes the testing does reveal important information about the dog's health, so the owner needs to be able to choose whether they want to pay for the peace of mind that comes with getting that information. It shouldn't be a guilt trip, it's a pity they made your friend feel that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted April 13, 2011 Share Posted April 13, 2011 Our vet doesn't do it unless he feels there is a risk, a certain chain of vets here push it big time no matter what the surgery or even X rays . It seems more normal in chain owned vets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty Miss Emma Posted April 13, 2011 Share Posted April 13, 2011 Staranais gave a lovely description of why it is done. My vet told me that it's only been recently (last 2-3 years) that they routinely discuss it with all patients. I think I paid about $80 - worth it for my peace of mind! For older dogs they can do a more thorough test that does cost a bit more (and obviously there is more risk that an older dog may have problems that could impact on the choice of drug). It certainly shouldn't be a guilt trip but I think it is good that they offer it. It's always the owners choice in the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancinbcs Posted April 13, 2011 Share Posted April 13, 2011 The only place I have ever heard it discussed is here on DOL. None of the vets I have used have ever mentioned it to me or anyone I know and I have never heard of anyone's dog having a bad experience with these vets with anaesthetics. My vets use the most up to date and safest anaesthetics for all dogs so I suppose it isn't really necessary and they are one of the most popular vets in Sydney for breeders because they are experts in reproduction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WoofnHoof Posted April 13, 2011 Share Posted April 13, 2011 I first heard of it on DOL, I wish my vet had offered it when my boy got desexed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staranais Posted April 13, 2011 Share Posted April 13, 2011 Why is that, WoofnHoof, did something bad happen during the anaesthetic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Are You Serious Jo Posted April 14, 2011 Share Posted April 14, 2011 I know the vet school in Adelaide has made it compulsory, you have to have the pre ana bloods done on every animal being desexed. I inquired when looking for vets doing cheaper rescue desexing, made the price unbelievable for doing rescue work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WoofnHoof Posted April 14, 2011 Share Posted April 14, 2011 Why is that, WoofnHoof, did something bad happen during the anaesthetic? Not so much with the desexing he didn't bounce back well, but it would have picked up his liver shunt and saved him getting a lot sicker later on. It also would have saved a lot of time, money and heartache with misdiagnoses too. He's fine now had the op to repair it but I nearly lost him from the effects of the shunt because it wasn't picked up early on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staranais Posted April 14, 2011 Share Posted April 14, 2011 Why is that, WoofnHoof, did something bad happen during the anaesthetic? Not so much with the desexing he didn't bounce back well, but it would have picked up his liver shunt and saved him getting a lot sicker later on. It also would have saved a lot of time, money and heartache with misdiagnoses too. He's fine now had the op to repair it but I nearly lost him from the effects of the shunt because it wasn't picked up early on. Oh I'm sorry. I guess there's no way of offering blood screening that will make everyone happy. If you offer the tests, some people say that they feel like they're being pushed into spending money or being made to feel guilty, but if you don't offer the tests, we get situations like yours where you'd really rather have had the option & where the dog would have benefited from it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MalteseLuna Posted April 14, 2011 Share Posted April 14, 2011 I did it because I knew that Maltese sometimes have liver issues which can affect their response to anesthetic and it seemed like a good idea to screen for health issues before going ahead with a major surgery. I think it was about $65 dollars... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WoofnHoof Posted April 14, 2011 Share Posted April 14, 2011 Yeah in my case it would have been very handy to know but I suppose it's an extra expense too, I do think it's good to offer as an option to make people aware of though. I don't know whether I would have chosen it back then as he wasn't obviously sick at the time (although he did have a few issues that were later identified as shunt symptoms) but it is peace of mind and I likely would have taken it as I like to be on the safe side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mysticpaw Posted April 14, 2011 Author Share Posted April 14, 2011 I did it because I knew that Maltese sometimes have liver issues which can affect their response to anesthetic and it seemed like a good idea to screen for health issues before going ahead with a major surgery. I think it was about $65 dollars... Thanks for that. I think this puppy is a Maltese x. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff'n'Toller Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 We did have a JRT that had a liver shunt we didn't know about- owners declined pre-anaesthetic bloods at the time, took him quite a while to wake up!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WoofnHoof Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 We did have a JRT that had a liver shunt we didn't know about- owners declined pre-anaesthetic bloods at the time, took him quite a while to wake up!! Oh poor little bloke :D mine was very woozy for quite a while after desexing he couldn't walk and he was crying the poor bugger, I should have realized something was wrong because he was worse than my chi was although the sibe had dew claws done at the same time so it could have been that making it worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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