post-op care and recovery

Highest risk periods of anesthesia are

induction and recovery

When does recovery end

when patient extubated, normal temperature, able to maintain sternal recumbency, and walking

When does recovery begin

when anesthetic inhalant is disconnected

length of recovery is determined by

length of procedure, health of patient, what kind of medication they got, low body temperature

When do you know the ET tube is good to take out

when the patient has 2-3 strong swallows

Some animals will experience a violent recovery where they thrash around and are vocal is what stage

Stage II

Potential complication during recovery include

airway obstruction, hypotension, hypothermia, cardiac arrhythmias

Recovery can be recorded as

uneventful, rough, prolonged or slow, complicated

What disease makes the anesthetic slower to be metabolized

Liver or kidney disease

What disease may not be able to tolerate certain drugs

head trauma or seizures

Complications include

Trauma, regurgitation, excitement, respiratory, prolonged recovery

kinds of therapeutic measures

physical stimulation, warming measures, reversal agents

signs of hemorrhage

pale MM, bleeding at surgical site, internal bleeding

Treatment for hemorrhaging

apply warm compresses, steroids, Penrose drain, removal

Collection of fluid in a pocket under the skin

Seroma

Treatment for seroma

warm compresses, drainage, pressure bandage, removal

Loss of sutures that allows the surgical site to open

Dehiscence

Causes of dehiscence

Excessive licking/chewing, infection, blunt trauma

Excessive licking, scratching and rubbing at the surgical site

Self-trauma

Prevention of self-trauma

Block access to the surgical site, block desire to reach surgical site

Treatment for infection

antibiotics, warm compresses, cleaning the area

Two most common classes of analgesics

opioids and NSAIDs

Postsurgical pain should be managed aggressively for how many days post-op

1-7 days

Drugs you can use for severe pain

clozapine and xylazine

Instructions discussed with clients post-op

confinement, feeding, medications/analgesics, signs of adverse reactions, how to access emergency care

spinal cord is hypersensitized to pain and is not responsive to traditional pain medication

windup pain