Ultrasound-guided parasternal block in a cat undergoing median sternotomy for pulmonary lobectomy

A 3.25-kg, 1-year-old, European shorthair cat was referred for acute respiratory distress. A thoracic computed tomography revealed the presence of multiple pulmonary abscesses, and a median sternotomy for pulmonary lobectomy was scheduled. The cat was premedicated with methadone and dexmedetomidine, anaesthesia was induced with alfaxalone and maintained with isoflurane in 100% oxygen. Ultrasound-guided parasternal block was performed before surgery with ropivacaine 0.5% (total dose 3 mg/kg). Rescue analgesia was needed only during abscess debridement and lung lobectomy. Postoperative pain was assessed every hour, using the short-form Glasgow Feline Composite Measure Pain Scale. The cat required rescue analgesia (0.2 mg/kg methadone) 7 hours after the completion of the block. This case report describes the feasibility of ultrasound-guided parasternal block in a cat undergoing median sternotomy, suggesting that it can usefully be added to a multimodal analgesic plan in the perioperative period.