Short duration anaesthesia for minor procedures in dogs

SUMMARY Anaesthesia was maintained with 4 different techniques in each of 12 dogs of ASA grades I or 11 undergoing 4 treatment sessions of mega-voltage x-ray therapy at weekly intervals. After induction of anaesthesia with propofol, these dogs received either: i) continiious pi-opofol iv infusion together with nitrous oxide/oxygen by inhalation: ii) halothane in nitrous oxiddoxygen; iii) entluraiie in nitrous oxide/oxygen; or iv) isollurane in nitrous oxide/oxygen. Anaesthesia dways enabled irradiation to be performed but stable anaesthesia was achieved more easily when enflurnne was used. The incidence of undesirable effects during anaesthesia wiis low. Recovery from the end of anaesthesia to swallowing was fastest Lifter enfluraiie (2.2 min median) but the recovery times to walking were similar (medians: halothane 12.5 min; entlurane 12.0 min; isoflurane 12.5 min; propofol I3 min). Personal preferences. local facilities and cost are likely to be the deciding factors in choice of any one of these techniques for dogs undergoing short procedures unussociatcd with surgical stimulation.