Why is prescreen blood work important before anesthetic procedures?

Why is prescreen blood work important before anesthetic procedures?

We stress the importance of blood work before every anesthetic procedure due to underlying issues that can be found with these tests. Here is Leila’s story…

Hello everyone, my name is Leila and I would like to take a moment to speak to you regarding having prescreen blood work done before anesthetic procedures.

A few weeks ago, a peculiar situation happened to me. Back when I was 20 weeks old, my parents scheduled my spay. This is where my story begins.

My parents thought that I was a healthy and happy Siamese cat. I was very active and ate my food well.     There was no concern regarding my health at all. My brother, who was scheduled for his neuter the same day, was also healthy and happy. We arrived at Catzablanca Cat Clinic and Hospital that morning. My owners were greeted and a veterinary technician took my brother and I into a room to review our medical history with our owners before surgery. At this time, I heard the veterinary technician tell my owners that before surgery, my brother and I would have our prescreen blood work .The technician explained that this blood work would ensure that our organs were healthy for anesthesia.

I looked at my brother and said to him, “We are young and healthy, why would we need this?”

Little did I know, my brother’s blood work was normal, however, my blood work revealed that my liver   enzymes were elevated. I could hear Dr. DuPont speaking to my parents on the telephone explaining that   my surgery had been postponed due to elevated liver enzymes. The reason for this is because; the   anesthesia used for the surgical procedure is processed through the liver. If we had not done the blood work, I could have ultimately gotten very sick after the anesthesia. I could hardly believe what I was   hearing because I thought, I am young…healthy…feeling great and playing with my brother. How could   this be?

The good news is that, Dr. DuPont had told my parents that I would be put on an antibiotic for 14 days.  We would then reevaluate my blood work in two weeks to see if my liver enzymes return to normal levels. If the levels are normal, than I get to have my surgery.

I am grateful that my parents did the blood work and did not rely on a physical examination and my healthy appearance.

Thank you Dr. DuPont!!!

   Sincerely, Leila