Studies in dogs with an emulsion formulation of the intravenous anaesthetic, propofol, showed that induction of anaesthesia was smooth and it was possible to maintain anaesthesia by intermittent injection. The mean dose for induction of anaesthesia in unpremedicated dogs was 5.95 mg/kg body-weight. When no premedication was administered anaesthesia was maintained by a total dose of approximately 0.806 mg/kg/minute. Premedication with between 0.02 and 0.04 mg/kg of acepromazine reduced the mean induction dose by about 30 per cent and the maintenance dose by more than 50 per cent. In 68 unpremedicated dogs given one dose, recovery was complete in a mean time of 18 minutes and after maintenance of anaesthesia by intermittent injection in 65 dogs the mean recovery time was 22 minutes from administration of the last dose. Premedication with acepromazine did not produce statistically significant increases in these recovery times. The quiet, rapid and complete recovery proved to be most valuable in cases where the animal had to be returned to the owners' care with the minimum of delay.

This paper describes the management of ninety dogs referred with thoracic oesophageal foreign bodies. The diagnosis, treatment and complications are discussed and an overall recovery rate of 83/90 (92.2 per cent) recorded. A conservative approach using oesophagoscopy and forceps delivery was employed in all but seven cases. The advantages of passing the largest possible rigid endoscope under conditions provided by muscle relaxation are emphasized.

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A total of 28 dogs bearing bone‐involved tumours of the oral cavity underwent radical excision procedures including premaxillectomy, mandibular symphysectomy and removal of the horizontal body or vertical ramus of the mandible. Subsequent return to normal feeding was rapid and long‐term prehensile and masticatory function was considered to be good with prosthetic reconstruction necessary in only one case. Amongst the 23 malignant tumours in this series the actuarial survival rate at twelve months was markedly improved in the case of the squamous cell carcinoma and osteosarcoma over that for conventional treatment techniques. No significant improvement was seen in the cases of fibrosarcoma. All five dogs undergoing surgery for benign tumours are surviving tumour free. Radical surgical excision is a practical approach to the management of otherwise complex mandibular and premaxillary tumours providing good tumour‐free function and improvement in prognosis for certain histological types.

A young adult Dachshund was presented with a cystic obstruction of the nasolacrimal duct causing maxillo‐turbinate destruction but no epiphora. The lesion was demonstrated by dacryocystorhinography and identified on nasal endoscopy which also permitted the successful creation of a permanent fistula without resort to invasive surgery. Histological examination of the cystic wall of the duct showed normal turbinate structures replaced by chronic inflammatory tissue.