Preparation area
The preparation room is the first area that your pet will enter after being admitted either by the veterinary surgeon or by one of the veterinary nurses.
Before any anaesthetic your pet will have a clinical examination to ensure that it is well enough to undergo an anaesthetic.
This may also involve a blood sample being taken for pre-operative information or for diagnostic purposes.
Following your pets examination, they will then be placed into one of the kennels in either the dog or cat ward. The veterinary nurses will then calculate a pre-medication for your animal based on its weight; the pre-medication will have a light sedative effect so that your pets stress level is reduced. The pre-medication also contains an opioid pain relief; it also reduces the amount of general anaesthetic that your animal requires.
There are two anaesthetic machines within the preparation room; these are used when your pet is being prepared for surgery in the operating theatre. We also carry out minor procedures in these areas and dental procedures are carried out in a separate room.
Your pet will have an intravenous catheter placed prior to their anaesthetic, the general anaesthesia is then induced via the intravenous catheter, once the animal is asleep an endotracheal tube is placed down your pets airway, this facilitates the delivery of oxygen and anaesthetic gases to the patient.
The surgical site is prepared in the preparation room by clipping hair from over and around the surgical site to prevent contamination during the surgical procedure; once the area has been clipped it is then cleaned with a dilute chlorohexidine (soap) solution. Once the skin is clean surgical spirit is sprayed onto the surgical site.