One of the most common concerns by animal parents is the safety of their animals undergoing multiple general anaesthetics for radiotherapy. Dogs and cats do not lie still when awake and must be anaesthetised to be immobilised and thereby ensuring the appropriate dose of radiation is received each time at the same location for successful cancer treatment. But what is the risk of multiple general anaesthetics?
In a recent publication by the American Journal of Veterinary Research (Baetge C.L. et al: 2025), a total of 218 general anaesthetics were performed in 12 dogs averaging ten years old. Dogs were anaesthetised once daily for between ten to 20 sessions to treat their various types of primary cancers and metastasis.
The main findings of this paper found that:
✅ Compared to the first half of the treatment course to the second half, there was a reduction in the incidence of anaesthetic complications (such as hypotension, bradycardia)
✅ Infrequent occurrences of tachycardia and ventricular arrhythmias
👉 Repeated anaesthetics also did not result in heart muscle injury over time, and for dogs with existing heart injury, there was only a very mild elevation in serum cardiac troponin marker (cTNI)
🪄 These results challenge the notion that multiple anaesthetics are dangerous, and that with continuous anaesthetic monitoring and appropriate individualised treatment, repeated anaesthetics were very well tolerated in the dogs of this study.
These findings echo our daily clinical experience here at Harvest Veterinary Oncology Centre (HVOC). Every general anaesthetic carries a small risk, and each patient can experience different complications. At HVOC, we have a specialised anaesthesia team that creates an anaesthetic plan tailor-made for your animal. The anaesthesia team is led by Dr. Christopher Sun, a Specialist in Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia, who performs and troubleshoots each general anaesthetic. Alongside a team of caring anaesthesia nurses, each general anaesthetic is ensured to be as comfortable, safe and smooth as possible, allowing the completion of the radiotherapy course for the treatment of your animal’s cancer ✨.
