Anesthesia Update: Is It Really about the Drugs or ? 

Dr. Kris Kruse-Elliott earned her BS and DVM from Oregon State University followed by a year in mixed animal practice in Seattle. She completed an anesthesia residency at North Carolina State University and is board certified by the American College of Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia. Following her residency, Dr. Kruse stayed at NCSU as a NIH postdoctoral fellow and received a PhD in pulmonary physiology before moving to the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she spent 15 years as tenured faculty and served as Section Head for the Anesthesia service. While at UW, she was active in both clinical and basic science research in anesthesia and physiology and has continued clinical research activities collaborating with The Marine Mammal Center in northern California. In 2006 she returned to the west coast to serve as the Medical Director and Anesthesiologist for AnimalScan (formerly Iams Pet Imaging). Dr. Kruse joined SAGE Veterinary Centers in 2018 as their first anesthesiologist, starting their anesthesia specialty service and building it into a robust service with 5 board-certified anesthesiologists. She provides anesthesia support for complex cases and training in anesthesia and analgesia for specialists and GPs through a combination of on-site anesthesia support and teleconsulting.  

Anesthesia Update: Is It Really About the Drugs or ?

Sessions will explore common anesthesia challenges in small animal patients with a focus on the entire peri-anesthetic care plan. Discussions will include planning for safe anesthesia and analgesia of patients with common co-morbidities and troubleshooting problems when things don’t go quite as you planned. We’ll also discuss some newer drugs and how to incorporate into your sedation, anesthesia and analgesia planning.

8:00 am-9:00 am
Onsite attendees: Registration and Continental Breakfast
Online attendees: Log into WebEx

9:00 am-10:00 am-Newer Drugs in Anesthesia/Analgesia:
Zobrium, Zenalpha, Solensia, Librela, Alfaxalone vs. Propofol
This session will cover several newer drugs available for sedation, anesthesia and analgesia.  Pharmacology of the drugs with relevant comparisons, expected physiologic effects, and important considerations for use will be covered.  Cases and clinical experience that is practical and applicable to your own practice will be included in the discussion.

10:00 am-10:05 am-Break

10:05 am-11:05 am-My Patient...Won't Stay Asleep, Won't Wake Up, Is Recovering Roughly, Won't Sedate
Not uncommonly, anesthetists encounter a patient who either won’t stay asleep or sedate, or the patient who is slow or rough to recover. Smoothing out these experiences are safer for the patient and relieve stress for your team. We’ll discuss how to differentiate the possible causes, as well as prevention and treatment planning for these situations. 

11:05 am-11:10 am-Break

11:10 am-12:10 pm-Troubleshooting Peri-Anesthetic Problems
Commonly anticipated problems for anesthesia of any patient include hypotension, hypothermia, hypoventilation, bradycardia and occasionally hypoxemia or tachyarrhythmias. This session will include how and why we monitor for these problems and some others you may encounter and give you some algorithms you can apply in your practice to ease troubleshooting for your team.

12:10 pm-1:00 pm-Lunch

1:00 pm-2:00 pm-Anesthesia for the Brachycephalic Breeds (dogs and cats)
Brachycephalic breeds present unique challenges to the anesthetist. While upper airway issues are often the focus of anesthesia problems in these breeds, there are frequent co-morbidities that are commonly encountered and can create additional anesthesia challenges. We’ll cover safe peri-anesthetic care and planning for brachycephalic breeds that includes pre-hospital through discharge and return to home.

2:00 pm-2:05 pm-Break

2:05 pm-3:05 pm-Anesthesia for Patients with Various Co-Morbidities
Patients presenting with common co-morbidities, such as renal disease, cardiac disease and others, can be particularly nerve racking for any anesthetist. This session will discuss the peri-anesthetic considerations that are useful in developing a safe anesthesia plan for such patients. Our emphasis here is, it is not about the drugs!

3:05 pm-3:15 pm-Break

3:15 pm-4:15 pm-Peri-Operative Analgesia Options
While opioids are often the mainstay of peri-operative analgesia, there are several other options you can employ in your practice with benefit to your patients that also improves your overall delivery of anesthesia and analgesia. We will cover some options for analgesia beyond opioids, the pros and cons, and how to incorporate these alternative pain management options safely and efficiently.