Sevoflurane Anesthesia and Surgical Monitoring

Anesthesia works by slowing body functions, relaxing muscles and blocking pain. Anesthetics are typically delivered either through injections, which travel through the bloodstream to the brain, or by inhalation, which are inhaled into the lungs, absorbed into the bloodstream and travel to the brain.

Injectable anesthetic agents are primarily processed through the liver and kidneys. This may lead to prolonged recovery and potential side effects. There may be serious problems if the liver and kidneys are not healthy.

Inhalation anesthetic agents go into the body via the respiratory system and leave the same way with little or no processing via the liver or kidneys. the level of anesthesia can be regulated with the anesthesia machines and vaporizers. Some agents are more easily regulated than others.

Sevoflurane, developed by Abbott Laboratories, is a very safe anesthetic agent that has been used in human medicine since 1995 and is very important in pediatrics. Veterinarians have only had access to this modern inhalation anesthetic a few short years. It is less irritating to the animal so is accepted very well. The depth of sleep can be regulated extremely rapidly, giving the surgeon excellent control throughout the procedure. This is important especially for geriatric or debilitated patients.

Southwest Veterinary Hospital uses Sevoflurane with nearly all procedures. Couple this with pre-anesthetic laboratory and ECG and blood pressure monitoring during anesthesia, and you have an extremely low risk of complications with surgery.