Greyhound Anesthesia
Von
Grone, Antoinette Baronesse (1954 - )
Image courtesy Barewalls.com.
Suzanne Stack, DVM
New anesthetics have been introduced --
most notably propofol, which is rapidly eliminated and has been a
Godsend for compromised patients. Injectables like Torbugesic and
Telazol have been incorporated into everyday anesthetic protocols.
The introduction of Yobine, which reverses Rompun, has made its use
much safer for short procedures. Similarly, the new Domitor is
reversed by Antisedan.
Most anesthetic protocols typically
incorporate 2 to 4 of these drugs. Additionally, atropine is widely
used to prevent excessive salivation and keep the heart rate up.
Your vet may have 4-5 different combos that he uses quite routinely.
For instance, he'll have his most commonly used standard regimen for
healthy dogs, very likely the same as what he'll use on your
greyhound. Additionally, perhaps, another for epileptics, another
for aggressive models, another for compromised patients, and yet
another for quick up-and-down procedures.
Which to use? I've seen several very
different "greyhound anesthesia protocols." The most widely used
seems to be acepromazine/atropine premed followed by ketamine/Valium
induction and isoflurane gas, same as in the general dog population.
At our clinic, we never give more than 1 mg of acepromazine to a
greyhound. Several years back, it would have been fair to walk
through your vet's door, protocol in hand. Nowadays, he may well
have something better for the situation. Maybe it's a short
procedure and he can get by with putting your greyhound out briefly
with propofol or one of the new reversible combos. Maybe he's
induced seizures in a greyhound with ketamine/Valium and prefers to
replace it with Telazol or a narcotic. Maybe he's simply heard
horror stories of greyhound anesthesia and just prefers to "play it
safe" with propofol/isoflurane.
But, even propofol, like everything
else, has its drawbacks. Occasionally, a dog abruptly stops
breathing on induction - not to worry, so long as you're paying
attention, this can be rectified immediately. Sometimes dogs just
won't stay asleep on propofol and the procedure takes twice as long
as it should. Some vets prefer their old tried and true to putting
up with this on a regular basis, reserving the propofol for select
cases.
Often, the safest anesthetic protocol is the one your veterinarian has the most experience with. I think the key is using a vet who anesthetizes lots of ( or at least some) greyhounds. Since the greyhound has historically been touchy with anesthetics, some of us feel most comfortable with what has always worked. If your vet's been anesthetizing greyhounds for years with halothane or Metofane and prefers it to isoflurane, I wouldn't worry. Often vets that use these gases rely heavily on the injectable induction agent and may use only marginal amounts of gas.
Worthy of mention is anesthetic
monitoring. Gizmos are nice – there are lots of them. EKGs and pulse
oximeters are the most commonly used. However, these are preferably
in addition to – not instead of – a real live technician monitoring
the dog. Given a choice between equipment and a capable tech, I’d
choose the tech in a heartbeat.
If your vet is new to sighthound
anesthesia, see if he minds contacting the adoption vet for some
suggestions. Both of you may be more comfortable when your best
friend needs anesthesia.
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