Relieving pain is one of the main goals in the treatment of our patients. To achieve this goal during our diagnostic and treatment procedures we apply so called multimodal approach to the treatment of pain, which includes procedures to prevent pain from occurring as well as treatments of the pain that has already occurred. We will most commonly use systemic pain medications (different types of pain medications given via different routes) and local anaesthetics.
By applying local anaesthetics we block the transmission of painful stimuli and most commonly we will do this before starting any painful procedure. The use of local anaesthetics will not only reduce the sensation of pain but also reduce the amount of general anaesthetic needed. In selected cases we will apply local anaesthetics postoperatively to potentiate analgesia.
Local anaesthesia (application of a local anaesthetic directly to the surgical site) is less commonly performed in veterinary dentistry and oral surgery. Most commonly we will perform regional anaesthesia, where local anaesthetic is injected around a major nerve while the animal is under general aneaesthesia. This will result in desensitization of the surgical area and surrounding structures, which are innervated by that nerve. Most commonly we will use long-acting local anaesthetics (e.g., bupivacaine) for the effect to last beyond surgery into the recovery time of the patient to provide the maximum comfort.
If you have noted any problems with your animal, please consult your veterinarian.