Vetrica Policies – All Animals Receive Pain Relief Before the Operation

Pictured here are some of the pain relieving medications commonly used at Vetrica.
All operations that involve the cutting of body tissues create pain. Pain is a serious cause of suffering to a patient, and a barrier to healing.

We place a lot of emphasis on post-operative pain relief. All animals undergoing surgery at Vetrica receive pain relief before the operation, and in most cases, more than one drug is used.

This is important because pain killers are more effective when given before an animal is operated on than after. Additionally, the use of pain relief before an operation will often reduce the dose of anaesthetic drugs required, which improves patient safety. The use of more than one drug to relieve pain helps to ensure rapid, long lasting pain relief. Top-up pain killers are given post-operatively as dictated by the patient’s condition.

A survey taken in 2000 revealed that only half of all dogs and cats receive pain relief for a spay operation. The same survey showed that less than a quarter of small mammals (rabbits, rodents etc) received pain relief after major surgery. Most vets would view a spay operation as major surgery, so the figures for more minor, but still painful procedures are likely to be even worse. These shocking statistics show that large groups of patients with conditions associated with pain, rarely receive pain relief.