# Short-Term Outcomes of Abdominal Surgeries Performed with Epidural Anaesthesia in Italian Calves

## TL;DR

This study examines the success of epidural anesthesia for abdominal surgeries in calves, showing a high short-term survival rate.

## Contribution

The study uniquely evaluates short-term outcomes of abdominal surgeries in calves using epidural anesthesia, an area not well explored.

## Key findings

- Epidural anesthesia alone or with minimal sedation was sufficient for most calf abdominal surgeries.
- Short-term survival rate was 90.1% with limited intra- and post-operative complications.
- Epidural anesthesia is easy to administer and has limited side effects in calves.

## Abstract

Several abdominal pathologies that require surgery have been described in calves. The clinical features can be variable and depend on the type of pathology, duration of symptoms and the possible presence of concomitant diseases. Among the diseases that most commonly require surgery, umbilical problems are the majority, but gastrointestinal or genitourinary pathologies can also be encountered. This study describes the short-term outcomes of a series of laparotomies performed on calves for umbilical, gastrointestinal or genitourinary diseases under epidural anaesthesia. This study is unique in that it evaluates short-term outcomes following abdominal surgery in calves using epidural anaesthesia alone or combined with minimal intravenous sedation, an area not extensively investigated in previous studies. This study demonstrated that epidural anaesthesia was sufficient to perform various surgical procedures in the calf abdomen, with a short-term survival of 90.1%. Intra- and post-operative complications were limited and, in all cases, not associated with the anaesthesiologic protocol used.

Abdominal surgery is widely described for several diseases in cattle. While in adults surgical procedures are generally performed in standing or in sternal recumbency, lateral or dorsal recumbency is preferred in calves. General anaesthesia is associated with several side effects, and epidural anaesthesia (EA) is a valid alternative anaesthetic protocol for several surgical approaches. Previous studies have already been published about abdominal surgery in calves for several diseases, but they are not focused on short-term outcomes. Therefore, there is a need to report a case series for calves that have undergone exploratory laparotomy under EA. General anaesthesia is limited in cattle due to its association with several complications, such as ruminal stasis, regurgitation and tympany, and alternative protocols need to be used. The aim of this study is to describe the surgical features and short-term outcomes of elective and emergency laparotomies in calves under EA. In more complex or longer-lasting surgery, with a median duration of 80 min, intravenous administration of xylazine was necessary. Short-term survival (defined as survival until discharge from the hospital) rate was 90.1%. The EA was sufficient to ensure adequate analgesia in most surgeries. This type of anaesthesia is easy to administer, with limited side effects. The results of this study support surgeons in decision-making in the event of pathologies requiring abdominal surgery.