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Peer-reviewed veterinary case report

Pain relief options for dogs after tibia plateau surgery compared

By Boscan, Pedro & Wennogle, Sara·Published in Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association·2016·From the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, United States·View original on PubMed

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Original publication title: Evaluating Femoral-Sciatic Nerve Blocks, Epidural Analgesia, and No Use of Regional Analgesia in Dogs Undergoing Tibia-Plateau-Leveling-Osteotomy.

Species:
dog

Plain-English summary

A group of dogs undergoing knee surgery (tibia-plateau-leveling-osteotomy) received different types of pain relief: some had nerve blocks, others had an epidural, and a third group didn't receive any regional pain relief. The dogs that received nerve blocks had a better recovery experience compared to those that didn't, needing less additional pain medication during surgery. This suggests that using nerve blocks can be an effective way to manage pain during this type of surgery, helping dogs recover more comfortably.

People also search for: dog knee surgery pain relief · tibia-plateau-leveling-osteotomy recovery · nerve block for dog surgery

Abstract

This is a retrospective study evaluating femoral-sciatic nerve blocks (FSBs), epidural analgesia, and non-regional analgesia (NRA) in dogs undergoing tibia-plateau-leveling-osteotomy surgery. Thirty-five records met the criteria for each of the FSB and epidural analgesia groups. Seventeen anesthesia records met the criteria for the NRA or control group. The parameters reported were: isoflurane vaporizer setting, rescue analgesia/anesthesia drugs received, heart rate, systolic blood pressure, and recovery quality (0-4, with 0 being poor and 4 being good). Rescue analgesia-anesthesia during surgery was performed with either fentanyl, ketamine, or propofol. A larger percentage of dogs in the NRA group required rescue analgesia during surgery. The FSB group had a higher recovery quality with median (95% confidence interval of four (&#xb1;0.3) when compared to two (&#xb1;0.8) in NRA (p < 0.01). No difference between groups was observed on any other parameter reported. As part of a multimodal analgesia approach for tibia-plateau-leveling-osteotomy surgery, the use of femoral and sciatic nerves blocks with bupivacaine appears to be an alternative technique to help with analgesia and anesthesia during surgery.

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Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26808436/