Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Incisional complications after liposomal bupivacaine in dogs
By Power, Ashley M et al.·Published in Veterinary surgery : VS·2022·VCA South Shore Animal Hospital, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Incidence and severity of short-term incisional complications after intraoperative local infiltration of liposomal bupivacaine in dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 218 dogs undergoing surgery had their surgical sites treated with a local pain relief medication called liposomal bupivacaine. After surgery, about 20% of these dogs experienced some complications at the incision sites, but most of these issues either healed on their own or were easily treated with topical care. Interestingly, complications were more common in dogs that had soft-tissue surgeries compared to those that had orthopedic procedures. Overall, using liposomal bupivacaine appears to be a safe option for pain management in various types of surgeries, but more research is needed for soft-tissue surgeries.
People also search for: dog surgery complications · liposomal bupivacaine for dogs · soft tissue surgery recovery in dogs
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To report the incidence of short-term incisional complications in dogs receiving intraoperative local infiltration of liposomal bupivacaine. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective study. ANIMALS: Client-owned dogs (n = 218). METHODS: Medical records were searched for dogs whose surgical site was infiltrated with liposomal bupivacaine. Records were reviewed for complications within 20 days postoperatively. Cases were categorized by: (1) surgical wound classification (clean, clean-contaminated, contaminated); (2) labeled versus off-label use in orthopedic surgery - stifle surgery to address cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) disease versus other orthopedic procedures; and (3) orthopedic versus soft-tissue surgery. RESULTS: Complications were documented in 43/218 (19.7%) records, including 27/218 (12.4%) complications that resolved spontaneously or with topical treatment. The incidence of short-term incisional complications did not differ between surgical wound classifications (P = 0.55) or between labeled versus off-label use in orthopedic surgery (P = 0.21). Complications seemed more common after soft-tissue procedures (32/123; 26.0%) than orthopedic procedures (11/95; 11.6%) (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Surgical wound classification or type of orthopedic procedure did not seem to influence incisional complications of infiltrated surgical sites. Complications were more common after soft-tissue procedures than orthopedic procedures. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Infiltration of surgical sites with liposomal bupivacaine seems safe in a broader range of orthopedic procedures than currently labeled. The results also justify further investigation in soft-tissue surgery.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35297072/