Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Blood loss during eye removal surgery in dogs explained
By Lenihan, Emer et al.·Published in Veterinary ophthalmology·2023·Eye Veterinary Clinic, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Estimation of the intraoperative blood loss in dogs undergoing enucleation.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs undergoing eye removal surgery (enucleation) had their blood loss measured during the procedure. On average, the dogs lost about 12 milliliters of blood, which is a small percentage of their total blood volume. Factors like the type of anesthesia used and the dog's size affected the amount of blood lost, with smaller dogs and certain surgical techniques showing slightly higher blood loss. Fortunately, none of the dogs needed extra help due to bleeding during surgery, and the findings suggest that a specific surgical approach may be safer for dogs at risk of complications.
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Abstract
PURPOSE: To quantify the surgical blood loss during canine enucleation and to investigate the relationship between this and any patient, surgical, and anesthetic factors. METHODS: A prospective observational analysis was conducted on 121 client-owned dogs (130 eyes) undergoing enucleation at a referral ophthalmology clinic. Blood loss was estimated by the gravimetric method (weight difference between dry and blood-containing surgical materials) to provide absolute blood loss (ABL) in milliliters, expressed as a percentage of circulating blood volume, to establish relative blood loss (RBL). RESULTS: Median ABL was 12 ml (1.6-116 ml), and median RBL was 1.3% (0.1%-6.7%). A higher RBL was associated with the following: use of a bupivacaine splash block versus retrobulbar nerve block (1.9 vs. 1%; p < .001), transpalpebral versus subconjunctival approach (2.2 vs. 1.3%; p = .003), and small versus large breed dogs (1.7% vs. 1.1%; p = .001). Both ABL and RBL differed significantly between surgeons. There was no significant difference in hemorrhage associated with the presence of ocular hypertension, systemic illness, surgical time, administration of meloxicam or choice of pre-medicant (acepromazine vs medetomidine). No dog required supportive intervention in response to surgical hemorrhage. CONCLUSIONS: This study has established a surgical blood loss estimate for dogs undergoing enucleation at an ophthalmology referral centre. Subconjunctival enucleation may be preferred for patients at greater risk of haemodynamic complications.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36322454/