Oxford Veterinary Hospital strives to go above and beyond the standard of care when it comes to patient monitoring and anesthesia. Our main concern is always the safety of your pet. The pre-surgical exam, medical history and any pre-operative blood work are used to assess your pet’s individual anesthetic needs and risks. The technician and doctor then come up with an anesthetic plan that would work best for your pet. Intravenous catheters are placed to allow good access to a vein for any medications that are needed and also to allow for fluids to be given that will support the animal’s circulation and blood pressure during the procedure. A technician is assigned to each case and will be with your pet the entire time to monitor them and make sure recovery is smooth. While under anesthesia, the technician will monitor an EKG (tells us heart rate and rhythm), pulse oximeter (shows us how much oxygen the red cells are carrying), and other physical parameters to ensure a good level of anesthesia and pain relief. During recovery, patients are kept warm and comfortable in our recovery area so we can watch them closely. When you come to pick up your pet, our technicians will go over the procedure, any instructions or medications for home care and answer any questions or concerns you may have. The doctors are available by email that evening if there are concerns and one of our staff members will call you the next day to make sure everything is going alright.