Vet School 101 Vampirology 101: Phlebotomy in Pets

Sometimes, even the simplest procedures can get out of hand. Like the time I was drawing up 10 cc's of blood from an itchy kitty for an allergy screen. The syringe malfunctioned (really, it was not my fault) and blood went pouring down onto the floor. To the untrained eye, it looked as if I had just exsanguinated the cat. The owner was my plastic surgeon’s newest wife. She stared silently and ashen-faced at the pool of blood on the floor. Needless to say, I didn’t make a good impression on her that day.

This horror show was an exception, of course. Usually the bloodletting runs smoothly—even with fractious and freaky pets who might prefer you not pierce their skin with a needle.

Venipuncture or phlebotomy (roughly interchangeable terms) is one of our most basic procedures. It is not necessarily an easy one, though. It takes months (sometimes years) of practice to learn how to do it right. The goal is to harvest the minimum quantity of blood required in as painless and efficient a manner as possible.

The process is simple:

1-Place pressure on the vein upstream from the site you plan to puncture so as to limit its flow and thereby make it plumper and juicier (by placing a tourniquet or applying manual pressure)

2-Wet the area with alcohol or disinfectant (shaving is optional unless an indwelling catheter is required)

3-Find your vein by sight and/or by feel (palpate the vein with your finger to make sure it’s full and straight at the site you plan to puncture)

4-Puncture the skin and vein with one easy movement (zen) and slowly pull back on the plunger.

Sounds easy, right?

Now I’ll tell you a few of the potential complications:

1-The vein sometimes does not reveal itself. Even with the pressure of a tourniquet, sick, dehydrated, fat, or geriatric dogs might have veins that do not lend themselves to easy discovery. Hiding in fat or depleted of pressure, these are the nemeses of phlebotomists in both human and animal medicine.

2-The vein twists and turns in breeds with crooked legs (dachshunds, basset hounds, etc.) so that the needle bangs against the walls of the veins instead of staying in the middle of it where the blood lives.

3-The vein is so teeny tiny and/or weak that any pressure exerted by the syringe as it draws in the blood causes it to collapse (as when you try to suck up a Wendy’s Frosty through a Slurpee straw).

4-Then there’s the moving target issue when a pet is difficult to control. Ever try to thread a needle on a plane in heavy turbulence? No? But you get the idea.

And then there are the anomalies: like my syringe malfunction with the plastic surgeon’s wife. I’ll never live that one down.

September 12th, 2006

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My darling retriever Ben (died of malignant histiocytosis in July of last year) spent the first couple years of his young life as a resident blood donor in a veterinary hospital.

Years after his "retirement" from that line of work, he would raise his head to offer his neck whenever a tech or vet approached him for a blood draw. He did everything to help but point out the vein with his paw. And he'd wag his tail the whole time, as if to reassure staff that he was OK with the procedure.

What a sweetheart, and much, much missed.

Gina September 12th, 2006 03:40:00 PM

That's nothin.
My vet had to get blood out of one of my rabbits once.
Of course, with rabbits, nothing seems to come easy. He started in one ear, ended up going to the other one. He never could pull enough blood in. He even tried hitting the jugular. In this case, he ended up having to switch to a diferent syringe to get what he needed. Took quite awhile. Only time I've ever seen him frustrated.
My rabbit was a champ though. Was calm throughout the whole thing.

And probably to my vet's chagrin, he's had to practice quite a few more times on my rabbits.

cheshire September 12th, 2006 09:14:00 PM

Makes me thankful for my cats and dogs. Rabbits would be truly difficult. The worst, however, are the pigs--they scream so loud you must wear ear muffs for any sort of blood draw.

Dr. Patty Khuly September 13th, 2006 09:28:00 AM

When you draw blood from animals, and it's problematic, at least the animals don't really "get it". When someone draws blood from *me*, and sits there making faces and pondering and saying things like, "I can't find a vein", it's upsetting for both of us :)

Leigh-Ann September 13th, 2006 11:02:00 PM

Truly sympathize. :(

As part of my rotation, sometimes I had to accession (human) patients and do venipunctures. Tons of stories. In my later years I did less since the rear-lab clinical aspects were more my forte when I had gone completely deaf. But I was sometimes called out on special request for hard sticks, sometimes by the patient who knew me, or by techs or doctors. And often the sticks were still hard to do. The most wretching were sick children. Sometimes the only way to get a large enough sample was to strap them down into a papoose. Usually that didn't happen until at least 15 minutes or much more at our busy lab was held up because the child couldn't cooperate. Not good for their memories nor mine.

Women btw, are nearly always better about being stuck. The ones more likely to pass out tend to be men. I was in Naval medicine and the guys were big strapping active duty fellows. It sometimes seems to have something to do with an autonomous reaction to bloodloss that is keener in some men. But there have been times when simply processing their paperwork caused them to go white followed with a *THUD* to the floor!

Semavi Lady September 15th, 2006 06:12:00 AM

Of course, with rabbits, nothing seems to come easy. He started in one ear, ended up going to the other one. He never could pull enough blood in. He even tried hitting the jugular. In this case, he ended up having to switch to a diferent syringe to get what he needed. Took quite awhile. Only time I've ever seen him frustrated.

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