Anesthesia & Analgesia

Our priority is to ensure the quality of care, the safety and the comfort of your pet. As such, AMAH is pleased to provide a dedicated Anesthesia Service to our patients.

Anesthesia/anesthesiology is the specialty of veterinary medicine dedicated to the perioperative care of animals - the care of patients before, during and after a surgical procedure. The anesthesiologist is responsible not only for general anesthesia but also for emergency care, critical care and pain management of patients requiring surgical and diagnostic procedures. Animals require sedation and anesthesia to allow us to perform diagnostic and surgical procedures.

Is Anesthesia Safe for Your Pet?

Unlike human patients, we can’t simply ask animals to sit still and not move! As any medical procedure, sedation and anesthesia involve risks of complications. Even for healthy animals, the risk of complications is never zero. The risk varies with factors like age, size and weight, breed and conformation, and the severity of the disease.

If your pet is undergoing a procedure requiring anesthesia, you can rest assured that your pet is in good hands at AMAH. Every patient is unique and your animal will be treated like so. The anesthesiologist will examine your animal and thoroughly review the medical history in order to elaborate the most appropriate and safest anesthetic protocol. Your animal will be closely monitored and cared for before, during and after the procedure. We are a team of compassionate and highly trained professionals, dedicated to prevent, detect and treat potential complications. We also use the most up to date equipment to deliver anesthesia and to monitor vital functions.

Another role of the anesthesiologist is pain management - the prevention and treatment of pain. Pain management is particularly challenging in animal patients because unlike humans, animals can’t tell us where it hurts, how much it hurts and they are also very good at hiding their pain. For those reasons, many painful conditions can go unnoticed and untreated. The anesthesia service makes each animal’s welfare a high priority - we aim to provide as stress and pain free as possible their stay at the hospital. Every patient under our care is evaluated at regular intervals in order to detect and treat pain and stress while in hospital. Tailored analgesia and sedation protocols are designed for every individual hospitalised patient.

Also important for pet owners to know is that some injuries and diseases cause pain that can last a long time, sometimes a lifetime, and if left untreated will considerably reduce the quality of life of the animal. This type of pain, chronic pain, is often overlooked. It is difficult to recognise. Animals can’t tell us about it and signs (like lethargy, reluctance to move, climb stairs and jump, not wanting to go for walks, not wanting to play, limping, irritability, loss of appetite etc.) are often attributed to the animal “getting old”. Fortunately, there are treatments options available to relieve the symptoms of chronic pain. The anesthesia service is available to assess your animal and provide long term pain management protocols to improve your animal’s comfort and quality of life as they age and/or suffer from chronic illness.