About the Section of Veterinary Anaesthesiology

Anaesthesia services are offered to various Clinics within the Onderstepoort Veterinary Academic Hospital, including:

The theatre complex boasts state of the art anaesthesia administration equipment to allow for safe inhalation, partial intravenous (PIVA) and total intravenous anaesthesia (TIVA) techniques used in all species. High-end multiparameter monitoring equipment is used on clinical cases to ensure a high standard of peri-anaesthesia monitoring. The section is able to provide anaesthesia service requirements in any species and ASA (American Society of Anaesthesiologists [ASA] class. Specialist veterinary anaesthesiologists within the section are regularly invited to perform field (outside of hospital, game farms and nature reserves, extreme wildlife relocation, zoological gardens, research facilities etc.) anaesthesia in all types of settings and species.

Undergraduate training for veterinarians and veterinary nurses involves theoretical training in well equipped lecture halls. The students are introduced to the concepts and techniques of clinical anaesthesia prior to their practical training rotation in their final year. The hands-on practical training is mostly delivered in the theatre complex using clinical cases undergoing various surgical procedures. Practical training of undergraduates is mainly aimed at teaching essential basic clinical anaesthesia skills in domestic and companion animals.
 

Postgraduate training is offered on many different levels and is aimed specifically for veterinarians wishing to either gain further knowledge in Anaesthesiology (MSc and Honours courses) or become a specialist veterinary anaesthesiologist (MMedVet and/or ECVAA diplomat).