Are you anxious about leaving your pet with us for an anaesthetic? Of course you are- everyone knows there are risks with anaesthesia and that those risks are increased with age and any underlying illness on the part of the patient. However we do everything in our power to make anaesthetics as safe as possible for all the pets in our care.
Pulse oximetry is a system for monitoring the pulse and oxygen content of a pet's blood which helps us to keep a close eye on his heart function during the anaesthetic. Where necessary, it provides an early warning system for complications allowing us to deal rapidly with any that might occur, helping to keep pets out of danger.
All it requires is that we attach a pulse oximeter clip to the ear, tongue or toe-web of the pet we need to monitor, which shines a bright red/ infrared light through the tissue and detects it on the other side. The absorption of this light depends on how much oxygen is carried in the blood within the tissues, and sensors relay this information to a screen to show up-to-the-second information about the pet's well-being: just one of the range of techniques that helps us to give your pet a safe anaesthetic.
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