Testing for health before surgery
 For
any pet owner it is important that their pet receives the
highest level of care at all times. We all want to minimise
the risks in every area of our pet's life - when dealing
with anaesthesia or surgery the best way to help reduce the
risk is to perform some blood tests.
We believe that testing before anaesthesia or surgery is
important as a history or physical examination does not always
reveal underlying problems. Knowing if we are dealing with
an animal that is not in peak health helps reduce the risk
of anaesthesia. If abnormalities are detected then we will
contact you and discuss the significance. Any abnormalities
are discussed and treatment plans made based on these results.
Why test young or healthy pets?
Often we are asked why do we recommend that blood tests
be done when a pet is healthy or young - it is easier for
owners to understand the need in older animals as everyone
expects their health to decline! Testing in young or outwardly
healthy pets has the following benefits
 At times abnormalities are detected that are highly significant
to a pet's health - it is better to know early.- Normal results are good! We view normal results as providing
a picture of good health for your pet - we will use these
results later either when they are sick or if they are
repeat at he next anaesthetic then we are able to look
for changes over time. These changes - or trends - give
us a valuable insight into what is happening to your pet
eg for some diseases such as kidney disease it may allow
us to start treatments that can help them before they are
ill.
What testing involves?
In 2010 we invested in the latest veterinary laboratory equipment that gives even better and faster results. Our new Catalyst biochemistry machine can perform a full profile rapidly. It can run more than one set of samples simultaneously reducing waiting time for those urgent cases. Our new haematology machine (Lasercyte) gives rapid accurate results and includes all the information you would get from a specialist laboratory. As always, we would recommend that we check the blood annually (or more frequently in some cases) if it flags any potential abnormality.
When testing pets before anaesthesia we collect a small
amount of blood - generally this is from the neck as a better
sample can be taken from this site. This sample is tested
in a number of machines within our hospital
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The Catalyst is used for the biochemistry tests. These tests are run to look at the
liver, kidney, blood glucose and protein levels.
If
we have an older or ill animal we would run further
tests to look at additional parameters. This may include moving to a full blood profile or adding electrolytes when your pet needs IV fluids.
This machine reduces human error as it involves placing slides and the sample in the machine- it does the rest and sends the results back to your pet's record.
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The Lasercyte (bottom part of the image) is used to exam the red cells, white
cells and platelets. (haematology)
These factors play a vital role in
carrying oxygen, defending the body from infection
or a role in blood clotting.
The screen aids us by directing the laboratory work flow and in returning the results to the correct patient correctly the first time. |
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