26. Anaesthesia of the teat in cattle

Question 1

Name the 4 teat blocks?

Answer 1

Teat blocks

• Ring Block
• Inverted V block
• Teat Cistern Infusion
• Vascular (Local) Infusion

Question 2

General Considerations?

Answer 2

General considerations

• Standing restraint: prevents udder and teat trauma
• Lateral recumbency restraint (laying) also possible but less practical
• Theoretically: anaesthesia of L2 and L3 nerves effectively anesthetizes fore teats, but not working practically

so you need to combine the block with sedation and analgesia

• Used as:

o Nerve block: for extensive fore teat surgery

o General anaesthesia: Under common field conditions

o Individual teat anaesthesia: Under common field conditions

Question 3

Ring block of teat base?

Answer 3

Ring block of the teat base

Generally

• Most commonly used technique under field conditions
• Used in all teat surgeries: prep skin and remove hair always!

Materials

• 0.25- to 0.5-inch, 22- to 24G needles
• 5- to 10-ml plastic syringes
• 2% lidocaine (epinephrine optional)

Pre-infusion procedures

• Standing restrains, tail tied fixed, rear leg restraint to keep the surgical area clean.
• IV sedation/analgesia combo indicated
• Thorough cleanse

Technique

• Infuse several spots both in skin and deeper muscle in a ring like pattern (2% lidocaine)
• Min 5 min for effect
• Anesthetizes the distal part of the teat!

Question 4

Inverted V block over the surgical area(General considerations)?

Answer 4

Inverted V block over the surgical area

General Considerations

• For teat lesion is specific
• It’s the most practical is localized in a small place

Materials

• Same as for the ring block:
• 0.25- to 0.5-inch, 22- to 24G needles
• 5- to 10-ml plastic syringes
• 2% lidocaine (epinephrine optional)

Pre-infusion Procedures

• Same as for the ring block
• 0.25- to 0.5-inch, 22- to 24G needles
• 5- to 10-ml plastic syringes
• 2% lidocaine (epinephrine optional)

Technique

• Infuse both the skin and musculature
• Be careful to infuse the lidocaine in normal not in inflammatory tissue

Question 5

Teat cistern infusion?

Answer 5

Teat Cistern infusion

Technique

• Rubber band on base of the teat to minimize milk flow
• Remove the milk from teat and clean
• Insert sterile teat tube
• 10 ml of lidocaine, then remove teat tube
• 5 min approximately for anaesthesia
• Milk out the 2% lidocaine
• Remove tourniquet

Question 6

Vascular (local) Infusion ?

Answer 6

Vascular (local) infusion

General considerations

• New technique
• All tissues
• Limitation: Size of the teat needs to be big enough and it should be good environmental conditions= warm

weather

Pre-infusion procedures

• Same as ring block and inverted V block infusion

Materials

• Heavy rubber band
• 0.25- to 0.5-inch, 22- to 24G needle
• 5- to 10-ml plastic syringe
• 2% lidocaine (without epinephrine)

Technique

• Place a rubber band for venous enlargement (venous plexus) just distal to tourniquet should become more

visible, disinfection makes them even more visible

• Infuse approximately 3 to 5 ml of 2% lidocaine IV (into the venous plexus)
• Anaesthesia will occur in several minutes
• Surgery and remove the rubber band

Effectiveness

• Not effective: teat lesion → abnormal circulation (e.g., laceration of the teat wall)
• Short time surgical procedures (e.g., teat orifice surgery