Veterinary Surgery Uses for Bair Hugger

There is no shortage of need for warm comfort for animals - from surgery to trauma. I spent several summers of my youth volunteering by caring for animals in a kennel and boarding facility. I have always loved animals. As an adult, I have rescued countless animals (squirrels, cats, dogs) and either nursed them back to help, found homes for them or kept them as pets. 

I can see the Bair Hugger warming system being used in two capacities. The first, being during and post-surgical applications. The second, being orphaned and abandoned (or otherwise traumatized) animals. 

In this post, I will discuss the Bair Hugger in a surgery environment. 

I imagine this dog is snoozing off his anesthesia on a warm
cloud of comfort. Maybe I need one of these!

Bair Hugger offers several products that I have found which can be used in the animal OR.

The first is the Animal Health Underbody Blanket (seen to the left). It is a soft, warm air filled bladder that helps maintain 

Similar to the features that I saw on the human Bair Hugger blankets, the ones marketed for veterinary uses claim a benefit over traditional water mattresses, since they can leak and the design avoids electrical hazards that may occur due to punctures or tears from claws and paws.

They are even made of a material which can accommodate various medical imaging needs. 

The second product worth mentioning is the Bair Hugger Animal Health Blanket. This blanket stays over the body as opposed to under it. 

This is the Bair Hugger blanket which goes over
the body, keeping in the cozy.

The website claims "The blankets come in a variety of shapes and sizes to suit your patients -- from kittens to horses and everything in between"

They can tuck the flaps at the shoulders, just like they do for human bodies undergoing surgical procedures and the hose (you can kind of see it at the foot of this operating table) can be attached in several locations and then sealed shut, providing a sealed and comfortable environment for the duration of the procedure.

Since the blankets are all disposable they make for an easy solution to maintain a solid temperature for as long as the machine is running, and can be swapped out easily with minimal mess.

In investigating these products, I came across a brochure which discusses all of the Bair Hugger products for animals. 

This graphic was on the pages, showing their entire line. 

I don't know if you can tell (it seems like it's a little blurry to me?), but they have several styles of over the top and underbody blankets, the warming unit, the warming unit filter and there is also an entire line of fluid warming devices, from a warming unit to what seems to be two intravenous flow bags or distributing pre-warmed medicine and blood.