Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Pain control after limb amputation surgery in cats using liposomal
By Schrock, Kelly et al.·Published in Journal of feline medicine and surgery·2025·Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: Liposomal bupivacaine as one component of the postoperative management of limb amputations in cats: a retrospective study.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of 29 cats that underwent limb amputation surgery were given either a new pain management option called liposomal bupivacaine (LB) or traditional pain medications. The cats that received LB were able to eat sooner and were discharged from the hospital faster compared to those who did not receive it. Additionally, the LB group needed less opioid medication for pain relief. Overall, using liposomal bupivacaine helped reduce the amount of opioids needed and improved recovery times after surgery.
People also search for: cat limb amputation recovery · cat pain management after surgery · liposomal bupivacaine for cats
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of liposomal bupivacaine (LB) as part of an opioid-sparing multimodal analgesic protocol on postoperative pain control in cats undergoing limb amputation surgery compared with traditional pain management protocols more heavily reliant on injectable opioid and non-opioid analgesics. METHODS: Medical records of 29 cats that underwent forelimb or hindlimb amputation were reviewed to evaluate postoperative systemic pain medications utilized, appetite and time to discharge as presumptive gauges of postoperative pain. Statistical analysis of the data included Wilcoxon's rank-sum test and Fisher's exact test. RESULTS: Of the 29 cats, seven (24%) did not receive LB and 22 (76%) did. No statistically significant differences were found between the two groups in the outcome variables evaluated. The median time to eating was similar (6.0 h in the LB group vs 5.0 h in the non-LB group), the median time to discharge was shorter in the LB group (25.0 h vs 42.0 h in the non-LB group) and the median time to discontinuation of opioids in the LB treatment group was shorter than the non-LB group (18.0 h in LB group vs 22.0 h non-LB). A lower proportion of the LB group needed adjuvant systemic analgesics compared with the non-LB group (5% LB vs 29% non-LB). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: The addition of liposomal bupivacaine to an analgesic protocol after limb amputation in cats is associated with reduced opioid dosing, earlier return to eating and earlier hospital discharge. The use of LB may minimize the negative side effects associated with systemic opioid administration and therefore decrease patient morbidity. Future studies are needed to definitively compare LB efficacy and safety for postoperative pain control and traditional systemic analgesic medications.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39885397/