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Summary This retrospective study was initiated to identify complications of anaesthesia occurring during ocular surgery. Records of 74 horses anaesthetised for eye enucleation, 65 horses anaesthetised for surgery of the eye and adnexa, and 51 horses anaesthetised for splint bone excision were reviewed. Fifty‐three percent of the horses anaesthetised for eye enucleation moved during surgery which was significantly more frequent than in the other groups (P = 0.001). The incidence of moving was significantly reduced by use of an anaesthetic gas analyser for monitoring (P = 0.001). Transient hypertension was measured in 6 horses during removal of the eye. One horse experienced a momentary decrease in heart rate from 36 to 26 beats/min at the start of surgery involving a mass on the third eyelid. The incidence of unsatisfactory recovery from anaesthesia involving multiple attempts to stand was significantly greater after ocular surgery than after splint bone excision (P = 0.036). Our conclusions were 1) the oculocardiac reflex was not active in these horses undergoing ocular surgery, 2) increased attention must be paid to provision of analgesia and adequate depth of anaesthesia, which may be facilitated by use of an anaesthetic gas analyser and 3) horses were at greater risk for unsatisfactory recoveries from anaesthesia after ocular surgery.

Arterial catheterization resulted in loss of a peripheral pulse postoperatively in 21/94 (22.3%) of animals examined, although no evidence of tissue ischemia was noted in the medical records of any of the patients in this study. These results suggest that insertion of a catheter in the dorsal pedal or coccygeal arteries was not associated with a high risk for complications. However, the course of arterial occlusion postoperatively warrants further investigation.

SUMMARY Clinical and biochemical observations on eleven cases of post‐anaesthetic forelimb lameness were compared with similar studies on horses anaesthetised in lateral recumbency making an uneventful recovery. It is suggested that the condition resulted from muscular ischaemia during the recumbent phase. RÉSUMÉ Les observations cliniques et biochimiques sur 11 cas de boiteries post anesthésiques sont comparées à celles de même nature faites sur des chevaux ayant été anesthésiés sans suite aucune. Il semblerait que les boiteries soient, dans ces cas mentionnés, le résultat d'une ischémie musculaire durant la phase de decubitus. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG Klinische und biochemische Beobachtungen an einem Material von elf post‐narkotischen Lahmheiten der Vordergliedmassen werden verglichen mit ähnlichen Untersuchungen an Pferden, die in Seitenlage narkotisiert wurden und sich normal erholten. Es wird vermutet, dass der Zustand auf eine Muskelischaemie während des Liegens zurückzuführen sei.