Experimental and clinical justification of male orchidectomy under local anesthesia in combination with xylazine and subanesthetic doses of zoletil

Abstract

The objective of our study was to establish the possibility of safe and painless castration of males using only sedatives together with local anesthesia. Animals, before appropriate fixation, were intramuscularly injected with xylanit (active substance xylazine) at a minimum dose of 1 mg/kg of live weight and zoletil at a subanesthetic dose of 1 mg/kg of animal weight, the testes and scrotal skin were infiltrated with 2% lidocaine solution according to the generally accepted method in veterinary surgery. Before, during, and after surgery, nociception indicators were evaluated: blood pressure; heart rate and respiration rate; degree of pain relief depth (presence of pain and spontaneous movement). During the surgery, the heart rate decreased, on average, by 40-50 beats/minute from baseline values, the respiratory rate decreased, on average, by 10 breaths/minute, and there was a decrease in blood pressure. We found that pre-sedation of animals with xylanite and subanesthetic doses of zoletil followed by tissue infiltration with lidocaine allowed humanely performing orchidectomy, as well as minimizing the cost of general anesthesia and the duration of anesthesia aftereffect on the body.