[Perioperative anesthesia management in small mammals]

In anaesthesiology rabbits and rodents are considered being high risk patients as about 30% of the anaesthetized patients die intra- or postoperatively. Due to the anatomic structures many anaesthetic techniques and patient monitoring are very difficult of even impossible to perform in these animals. For this reason anaesthesia of rabbits and rodents confronts the veterinarian with great problems. The main complications during anaesthesia are discussed and principles of the perioperative anaesthetic management, of anaesthetic techniques as well as patient monitoring are presented.