Radiation therapy in dogs and cats in 10 steps

Step 1: Welcome

Patients arrive at Equinox for their scheduled appointment. Due to the upcoming anesthesia, they must be fasting each time, meaning they have not eaten food for 8-12 hours. To make patients feel as comfortable as possible and to avoid any excitement in the first place, we try to keep waiting times as short as possible.

Step 2: Examination

Before each fraction, patients undergo a general examination. A preanesthetic examination allows assessment of individual risk. We can discuss any special findings that may arise prior to anesthesia. In rare cases, treatment must be suspended for one or a few days.

Step 3: Sedation

Medication during treatment is given directly into the vein through a catheter. Before the actual anesthesia, the animals are given sedation. This already makes the animals a little tired, and the anesthesia can be done even more gently with fewer anesthetic medications.

Step 4: Radiation bunker

Only after induction of anesthesia and securing the airway are the animals taken to the accelerator.

Step 5: Monitoring

In the radiation room, patients are positioned in the custom-made positioning aids and connected to an anesthesia machine. Patients are monitored extensively during this process: respiratory gases are measured directly in the anesthesia machine, and in addition, other vital signs such as oxygen saturation, heart rate, and ECG are monitored continuously. Incidentally, the measurements are also transmitted externally during radiation therapy, so we can keep an eye on the situation at all times.

Step 6: Position control

After positioning, the patient's position is checked again. For this purpose, we use an on-board imager (OBI), which is a computed tomography system that the accelerator already has integrated on board. The smallest deviations can still be compensated via a motorized table.

Step 7: Irradiation

The actual irradiation often takes only one or a few minutes. It is computer-assisted and fully automated. During this process, of course, the patient is monitored. If something unforeseen happens, the irradiation can be interrupted immediately. By the way, the irradiation itself is not painful. One cannot even feel the ionizing radiation: there is no sensory perception for it.

Step 8: End of anesthesia

The recovery phase already begins in the radiation bunker. We reduce the anesthetic gas early enough to wake the animals up as soon as possible after treatment. During this process, they are constantly observed and vital signs are monitored. The irradiation does not cause any additional danger to the animal. The animals do not become radioactive!

Step 9: Recovery period

After the treatment, patients are allowed to wake up in peace and without stress. While some would get up quickly and also romp right away, others like to sleep a little longer on the cozy heat mat.

Step 10: Going home

Most small animal patients are treated as outpatients. They are allowed to go home after therapy and catch up on breakfast. Inpatients are given food once the anesthesia has sufficiently worn off. The catheter can often be left in place if there is also treatment the next day. This saves another prick.