At Painted Tree Veterinary Hospital, we believe every procedure involving anesthesia, whether it’s a surgery, dental cleaning, or another treatment, deserves careful planning, attentive monitoring, and compassionate care at every stage. Our goal is to make the experience as safe, comfortable, and stress-free as possible for your pet and for you.
Not all veterinary hospitals include the same level of anesthesia support, monitoring, and recovery care. When comparing procedure estimates, it’s important to understand what is included—not just the final price.
Lower cost can sometimes reflect fewer safety measures, less monitoring, or more limited post-operative care. We choose to include a higher level of safety because that is what we would want for our own pets.
Pre-Anesthetic Evaluation and Testing
Every anesthetic patient at Painted Tree receives a physical exam the morning of their procedure. We check temperature, heart and lung sounds, abdominal comfort, and overall health before moving forward.
Pre-anesthetic bloodwork (including a complete blood count and chemistry profile) is performed and recommended for all dogs and cats. These tests help us screen for conditions such as anemia, infection, liver or kidney changes, electrolyte abnormalities, or low blood proteins that could affect how your pet responds to anesthesia.
When appropriate, we also recommend additional cardiac screening. This is especially important in cats, as some can have underlying heart disease with no outward symptoms. Identifying hidden risk allows us to adjust our anesthetic approach and supportive care for that individual patient.
Individualized Anesthesia Plans
We don’t believe every patient should receive the same anesthetic protocol. Anesthetic drugs, doses, monitoring, and supportive care are adjusted based on your pet’s age, species, breed, health status, lab results, temperament, and the specific procedure being performed. Every patient receives pre-medication before anesthesia to help reduce fear and anxiety, along with pain control administered before the procedure begins. This approach helps create a smoother anesthetic experience and a more comfortable recovery.
IV Catheter and Fluid Support
All anesthetic patients receive an IV catheter and IV fluids during their procedure. An IV catheter gives us immediate access to administer medications quickly, including emergency medications and anesthetic reversal agents. IV fluids help maintain blood pressure, circulation, and organ function throughout anesthesia.
Airway Safety
After induction of anesthesia, every patient is intubated with an endotracheal (ET) tube to protect the airway and allow oxygen and anesthetic gas to be delivered safely. At Painted Tree, we use a new, sterile breathing tube for every patient. Some veterinary hospitals may clean and reuse endotracheal tubes — we believe a sterile tube for each patient is an important step in reducing contamination risk and maintaining a high standard of care.
Sevoflurane Gas Anesthesia
We use sevoflurane, a modern inhalant anesthetic that allows for rapid adjustment of anesthetic depth during a procedure. This enables our team to respond quickly to changes and maintain the appropriate level of anesthesia for each patient throughout their procedure.
Advanced Monitoring During Anesthesia
During every anesthetic procedure, a trained, dedicated team member continuously monitors and records your pet’s vital signs, including oxygen levels, carbon dioxide levels, heart rate, ECG, blood pressure, respiratory rate, and body temperature.
Monitoring equipment is an important part of the equation, but it’s only part of it. A dedicated technician must also actively monitor, interpret, and respond to changes throughout the procedure. The written anesthesia record we maintain for each patient helps verify that monitoring was performed and provides a detailed account of your pet’s anesthetic event.
Temperature Support and Recovery
Pets commonly lose body heat under anesthesia, which can slow recovery and increase risk. We use active warming systems during and after anesthesia, including warm air systems, warming blankets, or circulating warm water systems as appropriate. After every procedure, patients are monitored closely in recovery until they are fully awake, stable, and comfortable. No patient is left unattended during the recovery period.
Surgical Standards
For all surgical procedures, our doctors follow strict sterile technique, including cap, mask, sterile gown, and sterile gloves. When appropriate, we use advanced tools such as laser surgery and electrosurgery, which can improve precision, reduce bleeding, and decrease tissue trauma. Our surgical approach is designed to support safety, comfort, and healing at every step.
Dental Procedure Standards
Dental procedures involve more than cleaning visible tooth surfaces. When dental care is performed under anesthesia at Painted Tree, we evaluate the entire mouth carefully by probing and examining each tooth, documenting findings in a dental chart, and providing before-and-after photos when appropriate. Dental X-rays are used to evaluate areas below the gum line, where much of dental disease develops and cannot be detected during a visual exam alone. A complete dental evaluation allows us to identify painful or hidden disease and make appropriate treatment recommendations.
Pain Control and At-Home Recovery
Pain control is part of every procedure, not an afterthought. Patients receive pain medication before surgery or dental extractions, and appropriate pain medication is sent home when needed. For procedures involving incisions or sutures, protective devices such as an e-collar may be provided to help prevent licking, chewing, or self-trauma. Our goal is for your pet to recover comfortably and safely at home.
Questions to Ask When Comparing Veterinary Hospitals
If you’re comparing estimates for surgical, dental, or anesthetic procedures between hospitals, we encourage you to look beyond the bottom line. Understanding what’s included in the cost can make a real difference in your pet’s safety and experience.
Here are some questions worth asking:
- Is a physical exam performed the day of anesthesia?
- Is pre-anesthetic bloodwork recommended or required?
- Are cardiac risks screened when appropriate, especially in cats?
- Are pain medications given before the procedure begins?
- Is an IV catheter placed, and are IV fluids used during anesthesia?
- Is the patient intubated with a breathing tube, and is it new and sterile?
- Is sevoflurane gas anesthesia used?
- Is anesthesia tailored to the individual patient?
- Is there a dedicated technician continuously monitoring anesthesia?
- Are oxygen, carbon dioxide, ECG, blood pressure, respiratory rate, and temperature all monitored?
- Is there a written anesthesia monitoring record?
- How is the patient kept warm during and after anesthesia?
- Are dental X-rays available for dental procedures?
- How is the patient monitored during recovery?
- Are pain medications sent home when needed?
The Painted Tree Difference
Every hospital makes different decisions about what to include in surgery, anesthesia, and dental care. Some steps require more equipment, more training, more staffing, and more time. We don’t focus on being the lowest-cost option — we focus on providing safe, thorough, compassionate care at every step. That’s the level of care we’d want for our own pets, and it’s the level of care we want for yours.