Public Relations

New, state-of-the-art method of anesthesia delivery available to large animal patients at University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Writer: Nicole Owen, 706/583-5485
Contact: Kat Gilmore, 706/583-5485, kygilmor@uga.edu

Athens, Ga. — Equine and other large animal patients that undergo anesthesia for surgery at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine will benefit from new, state-of-the-art anesthesia equipment, as the Veterinary Teaching Hospital has begun using a unique, high-end machine for delivery of anesthesia to their large animal patients.

The UGA hospital recently became the first veterinary facility in the United States to purchase the Tafonius large animal anesthesia machine, with an integral piston-driven ventilator. The Tafonius machine is fully programmable to provide more accurate ventilation of horses and other large animals that are undergoing anesthesia, allowing more accurately regulated volume and reliability of airflow that reduces the risk for common problems like hypoventilation and hypoxemia. The Tafonius is outfitted with cardiopulmonary and anesthetic agent monitoring equipment and computer software that enables the anesthetist to have immediate access to monitored data and thereby optimize the anesthetic episode for the patient.

Similar methods of delivering anesthesia are already in use in human anesthesia and intensive care, as well as small animal intensive care medicine.

There will be no additional cost to clients for use of this machine during anesthesia — it is simply a more advanced, accurate and more efficient way to manage the patient’s ventilation and physiologic status during anesthesia. The UGA College of Veterinary Medicine is excited to offer this new technology to its patients.

The Tafonius was first introduced at a veterinary conference in Paris in 2007, and the first unit was put into service in July 2008 at Edinburgh University.

The UGA College of Veterinary Medicine, founded in 1946, is dedicated to training future veterinarians, to conducting research related to animal diseases, and to providing veterinary services for animals and their owners. Research efforts are aimed at enhancing the quality of life for animals and people, improving the productivity of poultry and livestock, and preserving a healthy interface between wildlife and people in the environment they share. The college enrolls 102 students each fall out of more than 550 who apply. For more information, visit the UGA veterinary college's website.

The current UGA College of Veterinary Medicine Teaching Hospital, built in 1979, serves more than 18,000 patients per year in one of the smallest teaching hospitals in the United States. The college is currently working to raise $15 million toward building a new Veterinary Medical Learning Center, which will include a new teaching hospital as well as classrooms and laboratories that will allow for the education of more veterinarians. The goal is to increase enrollment to 150 when the Veterinary Medical Learning Center is built.

Note to editors: Photos of the Tafonius machine are available on the PR Photos for Reprint website. Click on a thumbnail to view the larger, print-size image.

This page was last updated on April 12, 2011.