My dog has high ALT. Is anesthesia safe for dental cleaning?

I’m very concerned about that high an ALT value. Personally a TTA surgery for a torn CCL is not as much a priority as diagnosing the reason the ALT is so high. I would postpone the surgery and get an abdominal ultrasound and needle aspirate of the liver to make sure all is normal. Certainly if she has liver disease the risk of anesthesia is much higher since many drugs are metabolized in the liver. Not having normal liver function could result in the drugs staying in the body longer so she may not wake up as quickly. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Mae.

Hi ! I was wondering if blood tests have been run to check for Cushing’s disease. This condition would also cause an elevation of liver enzymes. Regarding the teeth I would explore other possibilities that don ‘t include an anestesia ... first do no harm ! Hope this helps. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

The normal range for ALT in dogs is 10-130; 185/190 is not really that high. We don't really considered the ALT as elevated until it is 2-3x the high end of normal. I personally, would not be worried about an ALT of 190. Yes, it could be slightly elevated due to anesthesia. I suggest you do nothing right now and just have the ALT rechecked (along with the other liver enzymes) in 6-8 weeks.

Hello, & thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. ALT is an enzyme that is released when liver cells are damaged. The normal values are usually less than 100. Unfortunately, the presence of the enzyme does not indicate the cause or reversibility of the damage, nor does it tell us if this is recent, but temporary damage, or on-going problems with the liver. Toxins, including plants, medications, such as steroids, viruses, & endocrine diseases can all cause increases in ALT. If Kobee is not having any problems, then I would recommend retesting in 6 weeks. If Kobee is sick, there are many more diagnostic tests that can be conducted to try & get to the cause of the problem. Often, we actually never find this out, & dogs do very, very well with moderately elevated values. We actually do not even get concerned until the values are at least 3xs normal, or there are other parameters that are abnormal. If Kobee is well, then all I might recommend is discussing with your vet about putting him on a neutroceutical called Denamarin. It can help with oxidative changes in the liver. I hope he does well. Take care.

I recommend a veterinary exam to check how infected the tooth is. If they listen to her heart and it is fine and her blood work is stable they may be able to do light sedation only and remove the infected tooth. Bad teeth are very painful and also the dental infection can worsen the liver problem so extracting it if it can be done safely would be my recommendation. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Daisy.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I personally don't think age is a major risk factor for anesthesia. Most of the problems or deaths under anesthesia are unpredictable and can happen to any age. Doing blood work and checking for any underlying issues like a heart murmur before surgery is great. Anesthesia is monitored closely by the veterinary nurses: blood pressure, oxygen levels, EKG, animals are intubated and are on oxygen and on IV fluids. There are health risks to leaving diseased teeth in the mouth as well. Overall if Angel is a healthy senior I think she will do fine! Good luck!

If the liver enzymes are elevated but liver function is normal there is probably not a significant increased risk under anesthesia. You could talk to your veterinarian about checking bile acids if it seems like this might be helpful; bile acids can help determine whether or not the liver is functioning normally. Sometimes a biliary mucocele is surgically corrected so you also may want to talk to your veterinarian about rechecking the mucocele if liver enzymes are still elevated.