Australian veterinary journal
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Caesarean sections were performed on 18 Romney ewes on day 144 of pregnancy. Anaesthesia was induced in 9 ewes with CT 1341 and in 9 ewes with thiopentone and maintained in both groups with halothane administered with oxygen. Surgery was performed with the ewes in lateral recumbency, with respiration unassisted. ⋯ Significant linear relationships were only found in the CT 1341 group between TSR interval and PCO2 and pH. No significant correlations were found between the lD interval and any of the biochemical characteristics. The results of this study suggest that lateral recumbency does not interfere with uteroplacental circulation, that CT 1341 (2.2 mg/kg) is associated with less neonatal depression than thiopentone (10 mg/kg) and that severe neonatal hypercarbia may delay the onset of respiration in lambs with minimal drug depression.
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An elective left flank Caesarean operation was performed on 56 Hereford cattle and the influence of various surgical techniques on the postoperative progress assessed. A paravertebral nerve block produced effective analgesia in all layers of the abdominal wall of all cattle. In contrast, tissue infiltration, in the form of an inverted L block, did not produce analgesia of the peritoneum and was generally only partly effective in the muscle layers of fat animals. ⋯ Postoperative subcutaneous emphysema developed in ;23 cattle (41%). The absence of sutures in the peritoneum was associated with a significant increase in the occurrence of subcutaneous emphysema. Although the prevalence of retained foetal membranes was high this did not seem to influence the postoperative progress of the animal.
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Paralysis of domestic stock by the paralysis tick Ixodes holocyclus is chiefly a disease of young animals (especially calves) and of non-habituated stock introduced into tick-infested country in spring. The tick has a wide host range, but its principal hosts are bandicoots. ⋯ The distribution and behavior of the long and the short-nosed bandicoots are reviewed. The number of ticks required to induce paralysis in cattle and the protection from paralysis afforded by prior experience of the tick are discussed.