34th Annual Scientific Meeting proceedings

Introduction
A cut and sew staphylectomy is often performed during BOAS surgery in clinically affected dogs. A maxillary nerve block using local anaesthetic is routinely performed in these patients to reduce the consumption of inhalational agents and inhibit the response to noxious stimuli. The addition of adrenaline (0.00198%) to the maxillary nerve block to reduce intraoperative bleeding has not been previously investigated.

Materials and methods
This prospective, randomized, double-blinded control study assessed the total blood volume lost following cut-and-sew staphylectomy in brachycephalic dogs. Twenty-eight dogs were included with 14 randomly assigned to adrenaline (A) group and 14 to no-adrenaline (NA) group. Surgeons were asked to give an objective bleeding score (1-5) following the procedure. Dogs were monitored for intraoperative haemodynamic stability during the procedure.

Results
Total blood volume lost was significantly (p=0.018) lower in group A compared with group NA. The median surgeon bleeding score was lower for group A, but this was not significant. No significant adverse effects were noted due to adrenaline usage.

Conclusion
This study demonstrated that addition of adrenaline to a bilateral maxillary nerve block results in significantly lower intraoperative blood volume loss during cut and sew staphlectomy in canine patients with BOAS.