Epidural analgesia injections can provide excellent analgesia often with complete blockade of the pain pathways. One limitation of the technique is the duration of action after a single injection which can vary from 10-24 hours.
For some patients such as trauma patients prior to surgical stabilisation of fractures and patients recovering from major hindquarter surgery such as hemipelvectomy, they can benefit from prolonged epidural analgesia by the placement of an epidural catheter.
As well as providing excellent analgesia they reduce the systemic side effects of the systemic use of high doses of other analgesics such as opiates. This is a procedure that our anaesthesia service are happy to perform on a routine basis.
Case Advice or Arranging a Referral
If you are a veterinary professional and would like to discuss a case with one of our team, or require pre-referral advice about a patient, please call 01883 741449. Alternatively, to refer a case, please use the online referral form