The Importance of Pre Anesthetic and Routine Annual blood work

Many people overlook the importance of pre anesthetic and routine annual blood work for their pets.  A common misconception is my dog or cat is acting normal and showing no signs of sickness, therefore it is not necessary to spend the extra money for additional testing.  As a veterinarian I cannot stress enough the importance of routine blood work and pre anesthetic blood work.  Too many times I perform a CBC and Chemistry on completely health animals, and discover underlying diseases that have not become clinical yet.  Or I will schedule a routine dental or surgery for a pet, and have to cancel the surgery because there are some abnormalities on the blood work and anesthesia is too risky. 



Sugar



Meet Sugar.  Sugar is a 10 year old female spayed Maltese that came to see me for an examination of her mouth and to schedule a routine dental cleaning.  On physical examination moderate dental tartar and grade II gingivitis was noted, heart and lungs auscultated clear, and all vital parameters were within normal reference range.  Her physical examination was normal and she looked great other than needing her teeth cleaned.  Her parents reported that she is doing great at home and have noticed no changes in her behavior, eating, or drinking habits.  She had blood work performed 2 years prior which was all within normal parameters.   We performed a senior wellness profile which included a Urinalysis, CBC, Chemistry 17, and electrolytes.

Blood work revealed moderately elevated liver enzymes.   We immediately recommended further diagnostics to evaluate her liver.  Bile Acids were performed which were elevated indicating that her liver was not functioning properly.  An abdominal ultrasound was performed which showed an enlarged liver and a nodule.  A needle was placed in the nodule via ultrasound guidance, aspirated, and submitted for Histopathology .  The report concluded an active inflammatory hepatitis.  

Sugar was placed on liver supplements, steroids to bring down inflammation, and her diet was changed.  She will be coming back in 2 weeks for follow up blood work to reassess her liver enzymes.

Sugar is doing great at home.  We have caught her liver disease early and are hoping to will respond well to medications and her new diet.  Needless to say, we have elected to not place her under anesthesia and delay her dental cleaning until she has stabilized. 



My dog Nemo



Sugar’s story is one of many that I see.  In fact I recently performed routine blood work on my own dog Nemo and found out he was hypothyroid (his body was not producing enough thyroid enzyme).  Nemo is now getting thyroid supplementation daily and has a new swing is his step.  I would have never thought anything was different for him.

Animals cannot tell us subtle changes with their bodies that they may be feeling.  A person can say, my head hurts, or I feel weak, or I am not feeling 100% myself.  Dogs and cats cannot tell us these subtle clinical signs that they may be feeling.  Often times, it is not until they are very sick where we are actually seeing a change in their behavior or obvious clinical signs.  Many times their disease is so advanced at that point that there is very little we can do.

 Sugar and my dog Nemo are great stories.  We have diagnosed their diseases in the early stages and prevented further degeneration and advancement.

Our pets rely on us to keep them healthy and happy.   They cannot tell us when they are not feeling just right, or something is off.  Routine and pre anesthetic blood work is a great way to ensure our pets are healthy and are not at risk for anesthesia.  Our pets deserve the best! 

 Lets give back to them the health and happiness they deserve for a lifetime of love and devotion they give to us.   

Liver HealthThe liver is your dog's largest internal organ with many functions, including the digestion and conversion of nutrients, the removal of toxic substances from the blood and the storage of vitamins and minerals. The liver has an amazing ability to repair and regenerate itself, and nutrition plays a vital role in this process.
At Hill's, nutritionists and veterinarians have developed clinical nutrition especially formulated to help support your dog or cats liver function during its healing process. 

Canine and Feline L/D diet.