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Dr. Cathy Alinovi

My vet requires blood work to be redone before each surgery. What are my risks if I refuse it?

My vet requires blood work to be redone before each surgery. What are my risks if I refuse it?

Just as we do in human hospitals, requiring pre-surgical bloodwork is an attempt to find subclinical problems before they cause problems during surgery. In pets, a pre-anesthetic blood screen usually looks at blood glucose, and a few tests to evaluate liver and kidney function. Well-functioning liver and kidneys are needed to remove the by-products of anesthesia from the body. Another test, that only some veterinary offices perform before surgery, evaluates clotting times – if your pet cannot clot its blood during surgery, it may bleed to death. This is an exceptionally uncommon risk during surgery, unless your dog is a Doberman, or a few other breeds, or ate rat poison 2 weeks ago.

So, if you do not do bloodwork before surgery and there is a sub-clinical liver, kidney or clotting problem, you will not know, and there may be problems. These problems can range from having a hard time recovering from anesthesia to not waking up at all. However, just as they have discovered in human hospitals, bloodwork is not definitive for possible problems – the bloodwork can be completely normal but there can still be surgical complications. Conducting pre-anesthetic bloodwork helps reassure us surgery is more likely to be safe, but it’s not a free ticket.

 

Dr. Cathy Alinovi DVM

As a practicing veterinarian, Dr. Cathy treated 80% of what walked in the door — not with expensive prescriptions — but with adequate nutrition. Now retired from private practice, her commitment to pets hasn’t waned and she looks forward to impacting many more pet parents through her books, research, speaking and consulting work.  Learn more at drcathyvet.com

5 Comments

5 Comments

  1. eskimo dad- abe

    April 2, 2013 at 12:57 am

    Hello Dr.

    I have a 13 y/o American Eskimo, last year I had taken him to whom Itrusted, she did complete blood work on my dog and we talked about removing his carnasial ttoth”hope I spelled it correctly”
    She also adived that additional teeth may need to be extracted but wouldn’t know until he was sedated and x-rays taken the day of the extractions.
    We had an ekg and sonogram done and claimed his heart was enlarged by double, but his white bcc was low by a point and had me take him in a week later after being on clydymicin, WE went back did the blood work and she listed to his heart and claimed he had a stage 3 heart murmur.
    I had to take him for blood work again two weeks later and we were a go, now,I felt the blood work was a bit much concidering he had an infection and it was normal for his white blood cell count to be down abit. This wasn’t expmained to me prior to all the blood work so close togeter.
    He had his teeth extracted and cleaned and did very well, she claimed she had to pull 12 teeth and one wasn’t the carnasial,. I tok for his follow up’s and he was fine. However, 6 months later he deveoped an infection on the ther side of his upper mouth and she wanted to extract it right away and redo all the test.
    I had her do the blood work and it was the same problem with the white blood cell and again, we did the test 3 times over a 3 week period then had the ultrasound done. However, I had him on antibiotic and the abscess was gone and I took him for a second opinnion and thrid, I was told in short they raped my wallet with so many blood test at 240.00 a pop and the echo for $800.00 twice.
    I was also told, he had an infection just as we get and didn’t need any pulling. Now the shocking part, When all 3 Vets non affiliated looked at all the records, they counted 4 teeth pulled and not 12.
    Needless to say I left the vet never to return, I felt at $9000.00 for dentle work and blood work was not needed and so many teeth not even pulled I lost trust.

    He recntly after 1 year developed another infection in his back tooth and took him to another vet and she advised it was an infection and didn’t need pulling but did need a cleaning.
    That I will do next month, she also said she does the blood work the sameday and the heart echo aswell, does this sound right to you?

    Lasty, He has developed a problem with his hind legs and when I rub his back “spine” I hear snapping and cracks and moves unlike I’ve ever felt, He runs in the park but won’t walk up steps because it must hurt him, so I built steps around my home for him. I mentioned that to the new vet and felt it was dismissed.
    I’ve owend him since he was 9 weeks old and is my life and I would do anything for him, Can you please give me your opinnon on the above and what to look for in a vet that can help him, I went through word of mouth with the last and was not thrilled. I want my boy to last another 10 years God willing.
    Please help.
    Thank you

  2. Dr Cathy

    April 2, 2013 at 9:33 am

    Holy cow Eskimo dad-abe!!!! You’ve been through a lot with your baby! A few thoughts about the above: Loose teeth need to be pulled. Sometimes, it takes x-rays to see some not so loose teeth that need to come out. The carnassial tooth is a bear to extract as it has 3 roots – it’s the giant chomper, slicer tooth on the side for those who don’t know which tooth it is. All that bloodwork just proves that your dog has a weak immune system, as evidenced by the repeated mouth infections he’s getting and constantly low white blood cell count. Clindamycin is a heavy duty antibiotic that goes into abscesses and tooth root infections (bone too) pretty well. But, you had quite the bad experience. Now, let’s talk about the crunching sounds in your baby’s back – have you considered chiropractic? Works great to restore motion, improve strength and get your boy coming back up the stairs. So, your bottom line question – how to find a vet that will address the whole picture of your four-legged child with a weakened immune system, a predisposition to oral infection and a stiff back? I don’t know where you live but a great resource is AHVMA.org. They have a search for a vet option. You can find a vet in your state who does chiropractic (spinal manipulation) – this will address the creaking, cracking sounds and stiffness in the back end. Hopefully, this vet will also practice a combination of other modalities and will be able to guide you to fix the overall healthy picture so you can have 10 more years of quality. WHat I find is that vets who pursue alternative training have a wonderful warmth for pets that you don’t always find other places – they have more of a need to ask “why” and get to the underlying issues, not just treat symptoms. You deserve it!

    • eskimo dad- abe

      April 2, 2013 at 11:02 am

      Hi Dr.Cathy,
      Thank you, for so much for your quick response it’s so much appreciated.
      When I purchased Chase from a breeder he was 8 weeks old and the only pup out of 5 that followed me and chased me through the breeders home,lol.
      It was an instant bond and he continued chasing me hence his name :Chase:lol
      I contacted a dental specilaist I believe only two in the Country, this one is about a 5 hour drive and I had a phone consultation with him and faxed him records this morning. He comes to NYC 1 a month for dentle surgery and so I booked an appointment with him, we’re hoping he just needs a cleaning and if that’s the case it will be a light sedation.
      2 years ago, Chases former vet told me it was time to start prepairing for him him to leave me and I said “there is no prepairing for that” He is my only child and I will do everything in my power to keep him healthy and active.
      All his adult life I’ve maintained him at a healthy 20-21 lbs and fed him organic meals I prepaired myself and always give him a vitamin.
      I had him on Innova for 2 months but since the Recall, I changed him back to my organic cooking.
      Last night I purchased a new food Lucky Dog Cuisine and am looking fwd to it’s arrival for Chase.
      I am going to seek out another vet today that practices chiropratic care.
      I had him in the park this morning for 20 mins, normally it’s an hour but I saw he was in discomfort and lossed his balance in hind legs and we came back home, he has great energy..
      Again, I truly Thank you for your expertise and taking the time to reach out to me and Chase. You’re a kind person.
      If you were in NYC, I would take him to you in a heartbeat.
      Warm Regards,
      Eskimo Dad Abe

      P.S.
      I was told thAT cHASE FEEEDS OFF OF MY FEAR WHEN I TAKE HIM TO THE VET, SO NEXT TIME I’LL TAKE A SEDITIVE.LOL
      OH, HOW I WISH I COULD ABSORB ALL HIS PAIN DISCOMFORT.

  3. Chelsea

    December 28, 2020 at 12:32 pm

    I just came home from the vet where my dog was supposed to get blood work done for her dental tomorrow morning. The tech wasn’t able to draw blood as my Shih Tzu was squirming and not cooperating in the slightest and the tech said she didn’t want to stress out my Shih-Tzu any further. She told me to come back tomorrow and they would do the bloodwork right before the dental, and they’ll provide contact numbers in case anything should happen after hours. They still want me to proceed with the dental even though bloodwork will be done the same day. Is this safe? My Shih Tzu is 9.5 years old, never had a dental but the vet knows of her history with a grade 2 heart murmur. I’m anxious and unsure about how to proceed, and looking for a second opinion! Thank you

    • Dr. Cathy

      December 29, 2020 at 11:38 am

      You are right to be concerned. If it doesn’t feel comfortable for you then don’t do it! You are in charge of your baby’s health.
      That said, it is not unusual for blood work to be performed just before surgery. The astute veterinarian will postpone surgery if anything in the blood work is controversial.
      I hope everything goes well

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