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270 Tasks for the Veterinary Assistant

the gas. There are so many types of gas sterilization
chambers that if used in your practice ask for operating
instructions from your supervisor.
This concludes your duties for cleaning up after a
day’s worth of surgeries! It is a lot of work and there are
many details to keep straight but with time and experi-
ence you will be able to breeze through these important
tasks making you a very valuable member of the veteri-
nary health care team!

Reflection

Sometimes, cleaning is a “dirty” word. (No pun
intended!) As an assistant you are asked to do a
lot of cleaning. Why is it so important to clean so
carefully in a surgical facility and why should you FIGURE 14.32 Oxygen tanks in use and full.
take pride in doing a good job?

usually goes onto a surgical tray (Figure 14.2) but is not
opened yet. A gown and drape pack are usually placed
Surgery Skills and Maintaining on an ancillary table and opened. Some clinics will want
an Aseptic Environment the surgical gloves opened as well, others will wait until
after the surgeon is gowned. If OK with the technician,
attach the appropriate hoses and bags to the gas anes-
Surgical procedures have three phases: pre‐surgical, thesia machine and turn on the oxygen tank if attached
peri‐surgical, and post‐surgical. Pre‐surgical procedures to the machine or attach the oxygen hose from the
consist of preparing the surgical suite and the patient for ceiling to the gas machine. This hose is attached to a
surgery. We’ve talked about the suite in relation to large oxygen tank that may be kept in another room or
cleaning up after surgeries but now let’s discuss the set‐ part of the hospital. Some clinics never shut them off,
up to prepare for surgeries. but it is a good idea to at least check to make sure there
is enough oxygen for the day’s surgeries especially in the
E sized tanks. E tanks hold only 2000 psi of oxygen
Pre‐Surgical Phase (Figure 14.32). These tanks should have an indicator
card on them as to which tank is being used. As
The prep room is where the patient is induced with anes- Figure 14.32 shows, one tag one tank in use and the
thesia, and the surgical site is shaved and scrubbed. other is full. When you turn the tank on, look at the
Before that occurs, the patient will require a physical oxygen pressure gauge (Figure 14.33, right) to see how
exam and blood draw for anesthetic screening tests. much oxygen is left in the “in use” tank. Alert the techni-
Assisting the technician with these tasks could include cian if there is 500 psi or less so he/she can keep an eye
setting out the required equipment like thermometer, on it during surgery. Depending on the size of the
stethoscope, and sample collection equipment. It will patients and the lengths of surgery, that amount may be
also entail restraining the patient for these procedures. enough for the day’s surgeries. Repeat the process for
Remember, they are going into surgery so no treats as a the gas machine in the prep room.
distraction. You’ll have to use your voice and gentle pats Once the patients are cleared for surgery the
to calm and distract. Help the technician by verifying induction phase starts. An anesthesia chart is started
that the right patient is being examined for the right with the patient’s information and then is placed on a
surgery! clipboard to record heart rate and respirations as the
The order of patients is usually smallest to largest anesthesia is started (Figure 14.34). The first anesthetic
and/or the cleanest to dirtiest procedures; however, is usually an injection of a sedative/tranquilizer/nar-
emergency surgeries preempt that rotation. So, for cotic “cocktail.” Meaning that these drugs are mixed in
example, if you have a cat spay, a medium‐sized dog the same syringe. This may be intramuscular or subcuta-
neuter, and an anal gland removal surgery scheduled for neous depending on the mixture and will take 10–20
the day you would prepare them in that order. minutes to take effect. The patient will usually become
While the tests are being run, the surgical packs can quite relaxed and may even lie down. It is important to
be laid out in the surgery room. The instrument pack make note of the pulse and respiration before the