Brachycephalic considerations during anesthesia

According to Tasha McNerney, BS, CVT, CVPP, VTA (Anesthesia and Analgesia), faculty for the Directions in Veterinary Medicine (DIVM) symposium in Miami, Florida, the body conformation of brachycepahlic breeds can present challenges when administering anesthesia. In a dvm360^® interview, she outlines what to know for the most successful outcomes with these dogs.

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The following is a partial transcript of the video.

Tasha McNerney, BS, CVT, CVPP, VTA (Anesthesia and Analgesia): When we give [brachycepahlic patients] anesthesia, especially certain drug classes, that's going to really take away those compensatory mechanisms. And the problem with that is if we take away their compensatory mechanisms, and we're not paying attention, they can desaturate or deoxygenate very quickly, so we have to be really careful with our drug selection there.