Perioperative management of brachycephalic dogs – do we have a 'best practice' approach?

General anaesthesia carries an inherent but relatively low risk of death in all species; this risk can be influenced by several factors including the reason for anaesthesia (e.g. emergency vs. elective surgery), pre-existing disease and other patient-related factors. Brachycephalic dogs are at greater risk of experiencing complications in the perioperative period compared to their non-brachycephalic counterparts. This session will explore the factors that contribute to an increased anaesthetic risk in brachycephalic patients. We will review the current evidence supporting (or not) different perioperative management strategies, including anaesthetic drug selection and the use of gastroprotectants and prokinetics.

• - Understand the factors that contribute to increased anaesthetic risk in brachycephalic patient.
• - Gain tips and tricks on how to manage common perioperative complications including upper respiratory tract obstruction and regurgitation.
• - To standardise your approach to assessing anaesthestic risk in individual patients and identifying where the use of pre- and peri-anaesthetic gastroprotectants, prokinetics and anti-emetic drugs may be useful.