Question regarding dental

[oconnorjoy]

Pebbles, my 5 year old pom, has been booked for her first dental June 12th. She has mild collapsing trachea so I asked for the pre-op blood work. I also asked them to run a thyroid panel as she (I) seems to struggle with her weight despite the fact that she eats less than the recommend amount of her dog food. Traci, are there any other tests you would recommend as she is getting blood drawn anyway?
Joy

[Traci]

5 is still pretty young to be concerned about thyroid, but it never hurts to include it with a blood profile. Depending on her overall health status and prior history of good health, you can probably get away with a physical exam and a pre-surgical screen, but remember this only checks BUN, creatinine, Total Protein and ALT (liver). (some pre-surg's might include one or more enzymes, such as glucose). If you want a full blood profile, get the full chemical profile (called a "chem" or "comprehensive"). Urinalysis can be helpful too, but your vet can help you determine if that might not be necessary this time.

With her tracheal condition, ask if HE the vet, is actually going to intubate, rather than a tech, since you want the correct size tube attempt the first time, not a second attempt. If a simple dental/cleaning is all that is scheduled, she should only be on gas maintenance for a short period. Mind you, I'm not questioning a tech's skills, but since the vet is aware of Pebbles' condition, he should ultimately be the one for the entire procedure.

[oconnorjoy]

Thanks for the advise Traci. Pebbles is healthy, other than the collapsing trachea, so I am probably being over concerned. I will request that the vet intubate, rather than a tech. I'll let you know how the dental goes...it's this coming Thursday.
Joy

[oconnorjoy]

Pebbles' dental was canceled. They did the pre-op blood work and the thyroid panel and called me to let me know that her thyroid levels were very low...they said the lowest that would register was .6 and her's was to low to register. They suggested we wait till this is under control before going ahead with the dental. She starts on her medication tomorrow and will be retested in 2 weeks. The good new is that they checked her teeth and said they are not too bad...just a bit of tarter so the dental can wait till she is healthy again.
Joy