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Summary: This article reviews the previous reports of post‐anaesthetic spinal cord myelomalacia (PSCM) in horses and summarises the speculated pathogenesis, potential risk factors, clinical signs, differential diagnosis, histopathology findings, treatment and prognosis of this post‐anaesthetic complication. Furthermore, a clinical case of suspected PSCM is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective:  The aim of this study was to retrospectively evaluate the success rate and perioperative complications of lumbosacral extradural anaesthesia in dogs undergoing total hip replacement., Study Design:  Records of dogs undergoing total hip replacement in which lumbosacral extradural anaesthesia with 0.5% levo- or bupivacaine combined with either morphine or buprenorphine were retrieved. Success rate was defined as intraoperative fentanyl consumption <1 μg/kg/h with no intravenous infusion of other analgesic drugs and no additional morphine/methadone within the first 3 hours from premedication. Prevalence of intraoperative anaesthetic and postoperative surgical complications was calculated., Results:  Overall, 206 dogs were included in the study. Success rate was 88.7%. Hypercapnia (75.2%), hypotension (46.1%), hypothermia (27.7%) and regurgitation (6.3%) were recorded during anaesthesia. Within 24 hours post-surgery, urinary retention (17.8%), vomiting/regurgitation/diarrhea (8.2%) and sciatic neurapraxia of the operated limb (5.8%) were recorded. Luxation of the operated hip occurred at 48 and 72 hours after surgery in two dogs and one dog respectively. One dog had cardiopulmonary arrest at 52 hours after surgery., Conclusion:  While hypercapnia, hypotension and hypothermia might develop intraoperatively, the high success rate and the relatively low prevalence of postoperative surgical complications directly associated with lumbosacral extradural anaesthesia justify its use in dogs undergoing total hip replacement., Competing Interests: None declared., (Thieme. All rights reserved.)