[Mvinotime]

My six year old boy recently had a dental and an extraction. I requested the exam notes etc for his insurance claim per my carrier (Petplan) I received them and was reading them over and was concerned to see that the notes indicated "he did "fair" during anesthesia and became bradycardic and was given two doses of Atropine. He recovered well" and no further issues. Im just curious, maybe from our vet tech folks etc is this a normal occurrence or is this something I should be concerned with in regard to any future anesthesia. I would most definitely of preferred to see that he did better than fair I know there is alot that goes on and many factors that could cause that but just curious how worried I should be for future procedures. Thank you in advance!

 

[DogtorDoctor]

Do you happen to know what other medications were given prior to the procedure? Some premedication drugs can cause respiratory and cardiac depression, which, when paired with gas anesthetic, may result in bradycardia. Atropine is then used to increase heart rate and blood pressure (gotta keep those kidneys happy). It is not uncommon for corrective measures like this to be taken during any anesthetic procedure.

If you are concerned, I would recommend reaching out to the vet who did the procedure and asking if your boy is still a good anesthetic candidate for elective procedures.

I'm glad that he recovered well from his extractions!

 

[Starvt]

As a vet tech, I would say it's not weird but still fairly uncommon for atropine to be necessary.
If this was your usual vet, they would likely be aware that he may require a lower dose than usual of injectable preanesthetic/induction, depending on what they used, for the future. If this was not your usual vet, I would make sure the records are sent along with him and also just make sure to mention before any other anesthesia.
Not something to worry about per se, but to be aware that modifications may be indicated.