[Gpdd] (Care) Regarding gas anesthetic

[Stacy Harvey]

Mieke,
 
I think I would be considering going to another vet if possible-- the statement about the piggy waking up when they take the mask off to do dentistry is *partially* true--BUT, gas anethesia is much easier to control than injectable. With injectable anesthetics, once the piggy is out, he's out, but that also means that unless they use an injectable that is reversible (say morphine or medetomidine) if something should go wrong it's much more difficult, if not impossible, to wake the piggy up quickly. With gas, you have to make sure the piggy is at a good anesthetic depth, remove the mask, do a few minutes of dentistry, replace the mask, and repeat. It takes longer, but if something goes wrong during the procedure all the vet has to do is turn off the gas and let the piggy breathe pure oxygen and he will wake up very quickly. My vet has done dentals on my piggies before and we have had NO problems--and the piggy didn't ever wake up when we removed the mask
 to work. I have to say that I do have the advantage of being there to assist with the procedure and monitor my piggy myself (even though I am a nervous wreck the whole time!) Having said all that, I must also stress that there is risk involved when using ANY type of anesthesia--nothing is 100% safe.
 
I know those of you that have access to the Cambridge Cavy Trust are horrified that vets in the States anesthetize their piggy patients to do dentals, but they get absolutely no training on guineas in vet school, and many vets don't do dentals on exotics on a regular basis so they don't get a lot of practice. If my doc is just doing incisors and the bun/pig is cooperative (surprisingly, some are!) she won't use anesthesia--but she is a big advocate of pain meds on any dental. We aren't lucky enough to have anything like the CCT here.
 
Back to Mieke--it sounds like you were correct about the abscess--a lot of times with abscesses, it's pain in the mouth that causes the piggy not to eat and then the molars and/or incisors overgrow. It is best to remove the whole abscess, but the capsule has to come out too, otherwise, it can reoccur. Also, if the root of the tooth is involved, the abscess can reform unless a long round of effective antibiotics are used (to be sure you're using the right one a culture and sensitivity test must be done.)
 
Just my 2 cents.
 
-Stacy and the Squee Squad