Trouble Coming Out Of Anesthesia

[Tracey]

A couple of weeks ago we had no choice but to go to take Chase to VCA to have his face stitched up. It was late at night and they're apparently the only 24 hour vet in the whole desert. After Chase was stitched up and conscious, the vet called to let us know when we could pick him up. She wouldn't elaborate but mentioned Chase had had "trouble coming out of anesthesia". Supposedly this vet has seen a lot of Greyhounds in her career, used to work closely with an adoption group in Colorado and had reassured us she understood Greyhound physiology very well. So if I'm to take her at her word it means she did everything the way it ought to have been done for a Greyhound.

 

Anyway, now I'm left to wonder exactly what does "trouble coming out of anesthesia" mean? I hope to never have to take Chase back to this place, but if he ever has to be put under somewhere else, how much more concerned than normal should I be? Do I need to make sure they take extra precautions? I realize I may never know for sure, but based on anyone else's experiences, what should I assume "trouble coming out of anesthesia" really meant? I'm trying not to imagine the worst, but who the hell knows? Thanks for any input.

[Batmom]

It can mean all kinds of things. You'd have to ask the vet. That would be worth doing, so you can have your own vet add a note to his chart and so you can warn any future vets.

 

There are many different anaesthesia protocols that are generally safe for most dogs. But some dogs do better with one than another, some dogs need slightly different dosing than their size implies, etc.

[mychip1]

You absolutely need to ask. I lost my Jack from surgical complications......and have not forgiven myself...believing that maybe I didn't ask enough questions ahead - despite the fact that his vet was a racetrack veterinarian who specialized in greys.....

 

But you need to know the details.

[MaryJane]

I would be very concerned because at this point you do not know if it is likely to happen again or if it was likely a one time occurrence only.

 

Ask the vet and get all the details in writing so that you can give it to other vets as necessary.

[KF_in_Georgia]

Yes, definitely get info from them, but there's no reason at this point to assume they did anything wrong.

 

I once got a call from my vet after Sam had a dental: "Sam's okay now, but..."

 

Turns out, Sam and ketamine are not friends. That's been easy to deal with, but my vet made sure I knew that Sam should never again have ketamine. Ketamine is commonly used in greys, but sometimes can trigger seizures, esp. in greys that are known to have epilepsy. Sam has never had a seizure at any other time, so we didn't know then to avoid it (and he safely had it on two previous dentals), but we've easily avoided it since then.

 

But when I've taken him to the ER with a problem, the first words out of my mouth have been, "He can't have ketamine." I even got a tag engraved for his collar-- WARNING: NO KETAMINE.

[vjgrey]

You definitely need to ask.

 

For Gabe, it meant that he effectively had a severe anxiety attack - so bad that my vet was running tests to make sure it wasn't some kind of cardiac event. When he was undergoing treatment for Osteo, I mentioned the episode to both our oncologist and our radiologist, and they both altered their protocols for him as a result.

 

If I remember correctly, both used a small amount of Propfol to take him under and then a gas mask to keep him under. I know they didn't give him Valium because they suspected it may've triggered his bad reaction.

[JJNg]

If you're not comfortable asking the VCA vet yourself for more details, ask your regular vet to contact them. Let your vet know what the VCA vet said about him having "trouble coming out of anesthesia" and I'm sure they will want to find out exactly what drugs were used and what happened so they can be prepared if he needs to be anesthetized for any procedures in the future.

[XTRAWLD]

Kasey had trouble as well when waking up after his dental. I asked for specifics and she told me his heart beat was irregular and had an arithmia (sp?). It apparently stopped for a few seconds than would beat a couple times quickly, than slowly, than not at all. You will need to know what it was so if he ever goes under again they are aware and can avoid the problem as much aspossible. After that scare, that's the last time Kasey goes in for dental.

[Guest BrianRke]

I just had a dental done on Daytona and I asked the director of our group which anesthesia would be best. She told me to tell them to use Propofol/Valium. She said they have a much easier time coming back from that than the Ketamine/Valium.

 

He did GREYT!

[PatricksMom]

For Patrick it means serious agitation, it could mean a lot of things. Has he had trouble before? It could be they used a perfectly good protocol that just didn't work well for Chase, but if it's the first time he's had problems, you don't want to repeat it. I would ask your vet to contact them, because s/he will probably have better and more specific questions to ask them.

[NeylasMom]

Like everyone else has said, you need to ask, as well as get the anesthesia protocol. Although you may be able to find that on your itemized receipt even.

 

For Neyla, it was like others have mentioned extreme agitation. They had to restrain her and then for an hour or two afterward I had to sit in a coat closet with her holding her and basically restraining her every time she heard a loud noise. She was basically totally freaked out and hyper vigilant for some time afterward. A friend had to come and get us and we had to get his car later because I couldn't leave her unattended in the backseat driving home.

 

Anyway, the vet used Domitor instead of Propofol, even though he was "greyhound experienced" (the guy had a greyhound for goodness sake). My vet always said we'd use Propofol in the future, but I never anesthetized her for anything after that.

 

ETA: Neyla was a spooky dog when I got her so I think part of how extreme her reaction was had something to do with that. I've heard similar stories from a couple of other people on this board with spooks.

Edited March 29, 2012 by NeylasMom

[JJNg]

For those who've had dogs get extremely agitated on recovery from anesthesia.... In addition to finding out what anesthetic they used, I would also try to find out what preanesthetic sedation ('pre-med') they used (or didn't use). Many older vets are still not using a pre-med, and this can make a big difference in how smooth the anesthesia and recovery goes. The severe agitation can also be treated using a very light IV sedative to relax the dog during recovery. Very low doses (much lower than label doses) of Domitor/Dexdomitor and acepromazine are actually both excellent sedatives to use as a pre-med and for post-anesthesia agitation. Benzodiazepines (like Valium) are also a good choice.

[Guest Snazzy_Chloe]

I guess after asking the vet what they meant specifically (what kind of trouble your pup was having - what was irregular?)- I would also ask what drugs were given to him and how much of each. This could be useful info to your vet as well as you need to determine if an alternative drug or dosage should be given next time.

[Guest FullMetalFrank]

I would be rather P.O.'d if a vet dropped a bomb like that on me and then wouldn't "elaborate" on what exactly happened. If he had a truly rough time, it needs to be in his chart. Like someone else said, at least have your regular vet contact her; I have always been informed of how my dogs did with the anesthesia and told what protocol they use if I ask (and I do!) Unfortunately, most of our experiences with anesthesia have been in an emergency situation and not at our regular vet; but so far the vets we've dealt with have been open to discussing everything with me.

[PatricksMom]

For those who've had dogs get extremely agitated on recovery from anesthesia.... In addition to finding out what anesthetic they used, I would also try to find out what preanesthetic sedation ('pre-med') they used (or didn't use). Many older vets are still not using a pre-med, and this can make a big difference in how smooth the anesthesia and recovery goes. The severe agitation can also be treated using a very light IV sedative to relax the dog during recovery. Very low doses (much lower than label doses) of Domitor/Dexdomitor and acepromazine are actually both excellent sedatives to use as a pre-med and for post-anesthesia agitation. Benzodiazepines (like Valium) are also a good choice.

 

This is good information, but your vet can do all this right and still have trouble with agitation--I know mine does.