The outcomes of epidural anaesthesia in horses with perineal and tail melanomas: Complications associated with ataxia and the risks of rope recovery

Abstract

SummaryMelanoma is a common neoplasm in horses, with a high rate of incidence in the perineum and ventral tail. Surgical excision is often recommended to remove such masses and can be achieved in the standing horse either via local infiltration of local anaesthetic, or via epidural administration of a local anaesthetic and/or an adrenergic α2 receptor agonist. The clinical records of all horses with tail and/or perineal melanomas that received epidural anaesthesia at a single equine hospital, over a 7‐year period, were reviewed to determine the drugs administered and complications associated with the epidural injection. Twenty‐five cases were identified, five of which received epidural anaesthesia on two occasions. Epidural anaesthesia was insufficient to allow surgical melanoma excision in two horses; repeated epidural injection allowed sufficient loss of sensation in one of these horses and additional regional infiltration of local anaesthetic allowed completion of surgery in the other. Three horses developed significant ataxia associated with epidural anaesthesia, two of which became recumbent. Both recumbent horses were placed under general anaesthesia, and in one of these, rope‐assisted anaesthetic recovery resulted in additional complications associated with facial nerve paresis, fractured ribs and a fracture of the first coccygeal vertebra, with associated neurological dysfunction of the rectum, anus, tail and surrounding skin.