Planning anaesthesia for surgical or prolonged procedures

Equipment

Before anaesthetising an animal:

• Check that all of the equipment that you need is readily available and functioning correctly. This may include heating pads (which should be set up and turned on 15-30 minutes in advance to check that they reach the required temperature, monitoring equipment, and an anaesthetic machine. 
• Check the anaesthetic machine and breathing system.
• Check that any drugs or equipment needed for dealing with anaesthetic emergencies are readily available.
• Check that the equipment you will need in the post-anaesthetic or post-operative period, such as incubators or heated cabinets, special bedding and special foodstuffs are available and ready to use.