Some procedures can be done conscious, some under light sedation, but some procedures/surgeries require full general anaesthesia. Just like we when undergo a general anaesthetic, we place a breathing tube (endotracheal tube) in the airway of our anaesthetised patients. This provides the safest means of maintaining anaesthesia, immediate access to the airways if the patient should stop breathing, and allows us to adjust the depth of anaesthetic precisely for maximum safety for the pet.
We also routinely place intravenous cannulae to allow administration of rapidly acting drugs and intravenous fluids.
