History: Eleven female dogs of different breeds undergoing unilateral radical (n = 7) or regional abdominal mastectomy (n = 4) received an ultrasound guided transverse abdominis plane block (TAP-block).
Physical examination: Subjects showed single or multiple mammary tumours. Serum biochemistry, CBC and electrocardiogram were unremarkable. Eight animals were classified as ASA physical status II and 3 as ASA III.
Management: Dogs were premedicated with methadone [0.1 or 0.2 mg kg(-1) intravenously (IV) or intramuscularly respectively] or fentanyl (2.5 μg kg(-1) IV). Anaesthesia was induced with propofol and maintained with isoflurane or sevoflurane. Unilateral ultrasound guided TAP blocks were performed in the caudal and cranial abdomen with bupivacaine 0.25% (0.3 to 0.35 mL kg(-1) ). Intercostal nerve blocks (T4 to T11 ) with bupivacaine 0.25% (0.013 to 0.04 mL kg(-1) ) completed the blocked area in dogs undergoing radical mastectomy.
Follow up: The median (range) of end-expired isoflurane and sevoflurane necessary to maintain anaesthesia was 1.15 (1.07-1.22) and 2.07 (2.05-2.2) vol% respectively. A single administration of fentanyl (2.5 μg kg(-1) , IV) was administered to control nociception (defined as an increased heart rate or mean arterial blood pressure above 20% of the pre-incisional value) in four of 11 dogs. All dogs received carprofen (2 mg kg(-1) subcutaneously) at the end of surgery. Post-operative pain, assessed for 120 minutes using the short form of Glasgow Composite Pain Scale (0-24), was always lower than 3. No rescue analgesia (allowed by the protocol) was required in this time.
Conclusion: Transverse abdominis plane block combined with intercostal nerve blocks may be useful to produce intraoperative anti-nociception and short term post-operative analgesia in dogs undergoing unilateral mastectomy.
Keywords: TAP block; cancer pain; dog; mastectomy; regional anaesthesia; ultrasound.
© 2014 Association of Veterinary Anaesthetists and the American College of Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia.