Anesthesia and Pain Management
Anesthesia is necessary for animal patients undergoing surgical and many medical procedures such as endoscopy, biopsies, and advanced imaging such as CT and MRI. Each patient is unique in their age, breed, health status and personality so it’s important for each patient to be provided an individualized plan that incorporates the latest research in both anesthesia and pain management. Our service includes an anesthesiologist, as well as several experienced veterinary technicians. For every patient she is directly supervising, the anesthesiologist reviews each patient’s history and anesthetic/pain management needs and provides supervision of anesthesia.
VSH uses state-of-the-art monitoring equipment to evaluate cardiovascular and pulmonary function, intravenous fluids for maintenance of hydration and cardiovascular support and provides the most up to date preventative and therapeutic pain management. Our anesthesiologist has expertise in anesthetizing patients will intracranial, cardiac disease, endocrine disease, kidney and liver failure, trauma patients and so much more. Each of these disease processes affects the body in different ways and requires different types of management intra-operatively.
We are dedicated to minimizing anesthetic risk and providing the patient with the most optimal post-operative pain management.
- In-hospital anesthetic case supervision/management
- Anesthesia protocol review and consultation
- Pre, intra and postoperative pain assessment and management
- Acute and chronic pain consultations and treatment
- Continuing education for VSH staff, and outside veterinarians and veterinary technicians
Anesthesia procedures and monitoring includes:
- Electrocardiography
- Pulse oximetry
- Capnography
- Blood pressure monitoring (both direct and indirect)
- Arterial gas monitoring
- Central venous pressure
- Ventilatory support
- Neuromuscular blockade
- Local regional anesthesia/analgesia
- And much more…
Dr. Amber Hopkins is a 2007 graduate from Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine. She completed a one year small animal rotating internship at Bay Area Veterinary Specialists in San Leandro, CA, followed by a three year residency in Anesthesia at University of Pennsylvania. During her residency she specialized in all areas of anesthesia and pain management in large animal, small animal, small exotic and zoo animals. Dr. Hopkins’s areas of particular interest are critical care anesthesia, exotics anesthesia and all aspects of pain management, including acute and chronic pain and client education. Dr. Hopkins is also pursuing a certification in acupuncture, to further incorporate both conventional and complementary methods for treatment and management of pain. In her spare time, Dr. Hopkins enjoys hiking with her two mixed breed dogs, volleyball, surfing and SCUBA diving.