Importance of Pre-Anesthetic Bloodwork

It is very important to understand the benefits of pre-anesthetic bloodwork fully. Regardless of the pet’s age, bloodwork is a very important tool to allow the veterinarian to recognize early warning signs of disease.
Bloodwork will help to see how each organ is functioning and can show signs of damage before the pet’s outward behaviour indicates any changes. Our pets can look completely healthy on the outside, but this doesn’t mean they are without health problems. Cats, for example, can be very stoic, and often will hide signs of pain or illness until they can no longer compensate. In these cases, routine surgeries that generally shouldn’t be a problem for them could cause them stress, and they may become very sick.

There is always a risk associated with any anesthetic and surgery, with any pet. Doing blood work is one way to help minimize as many of those complications as possible. The bloodwork will show if the pet has any hidden illnesses. If the results come back irregular, your veterinarian will be able to determine the next steps, such as altering medication or postponing a surgery if your pets immune system is too weak.

Checking blood work is especially important because the anesthesia is filtered through the liver and kidneys. If they aren’t working to the best of their ability, it very easily could cause the pet to have anesthetic complications or a difficult recovery.

Many people think because they have a puppy or kitten they don’t need to do the blood work. Many owners think that because they are young, they are healthy. However, it is possible that puppies and kittens may have congenital abnormalities, which have not been discovered yet, and could lead to anesthetic complications for them.

At the very least, pre-anesthetic blood work will give us a healthy baseline. So, when your pet does come in not feeling well, the veterinarian has something to compare. They will check to see what has changed and by how much.

Feel free to call us at 506-622-2355 if you have any further questions about the importance of doing blood work in your pets!