Castration/ovariohysterectomy pain (dogs)

WSAVA guideline

Key findings

• Premedication: analgesia = opioid; sedation = acepromazine and/or benzodiazepines (midazolam or diazepam 0.25–0.4 mg/kg IM; diazepam best IV — painful IM) or α2 (Tables 20–21).
• IM induction differs from cat: ketamine 3–5 mg/kg (castration) vs 5.0–7.5 mg/kg (OHE) with opioid + α2; tiletamine/zolazepam 3–4 mg/kg IM; IV propofol 3–5 or alfaxalone 1–2 mg/kg (card).
• Intratesticular block 0.5–1 mL/side (lidocaine or bupivacaine) reduces inhalant requirement, blunts sympathetic response; incisional lidocaine added for castration (§2.5).
• No-controlled-drugs OHE: NSAID + metamizole 20–50 mg/kg slow IV or deep IM + α2; post-op NSAID ± metamizole (Table 21).
• Post-op analgesia may be required up to 3 days (OHE; cryptorchid); same NSAID pre- and post-op (card; §3.2).
• Dog contrasts: no OTM buprenorphine (IM/IV 0.01–0.02 mg/kg q4–8 h); tramadol — no relevant M1 metabolite in dogs, no proven analgesia; paracetamol dogs only, never cats (Tables 12–13; §2.7).

Drugs named in WSAVA’s own guideline text

As printed in WSAVA’s document, not this app’s own extracted data — see “Related drugs in this reference” below for that.

• Carprofen (Dog)

  Post-op NSAID cornerstone; take-home

• Meloxicam (Dog)

  Post-op NSAID; take-home

• Dexmedetomidine (α2) (Dog)

  Sedation + adjunct analgesia

• Opioid (methadone/morphine) (Dog)

  "Analgesia: opioid" premed

• Metamizole / paracetamol (Dog)

  Non-controlled OHE protocol; NSAID-washout bridge

• Lidocaine / bupivacaine (Dog)

  Castration intratesticular ± incisional; OHE incisional + IP/ovarian block

• Induction/maintenance (Dog)

  Induction/maintenance

Recommendations

• GA + preventive/multimodal analgesia for all canine neutering

  "Strongly recommended" (card; §3.2)

• LA techniques in all cases; mandatory when opioids unavailable

  Expert consensus (GPC)

• Same NSAID pre- and post-op; no perioperative switching

  Expert consensus (GPC)

• Dispense analgesia up to 3 days post-op (OHE, cryptorchid)

  Expert consensus (GPC)

• Inject opioids — oral opioids negligible bioavailability in dogs

  Expert consensus (GPC; §2.2)

• Tramadol: no proven analgesic effect in dogs — last-resort adjunct

  Species-specific (§2.7)

• Paracetamol acceptable in dogs; strictly contraindicated in cats

  Species-specific (§2.3)

• Score with CMPS-SF (rescue ≥6/24; ≥5/20 without mobility); non-drug modalities

  Validated tool (Table 6); GPC

Related drugs in this reference (2)

The quoted line under each drug is its own already-extracted indication text that matched this condition — the reason it’s listed, not a paraphrase. Open a drug for its full species/route breakdown, calculator, and complete adverse-effect list.

Showing 2 of 2 linked drug records. Open a record for species, route and source details.

• MELOXICAM

  “Single-dose post-op pain (ovariohysterectomy, orthopedic, castration)”

  Source dose preview: 0.2 mg/kg loading, then 0.1 mg/kg, q24h, PO/SC/IV (Dog)

  Adverse-effect notes: GI (vomiting, diarrhea, ulceration) — Most common · Renal injury — Reported at ≥0.3–0.5 mg/kg and higher (dog); with repeated/dehydrated dosing (cat)

• ROBENACOXIB

  “OstiRobe Injection is indicated for the control of postoperative pain and inflammation associated with orthopedic surgery, ovariohysterectomy and castration in…”

  Source dose preview: 1–2 mg/kg, q24h, PO (Dog)

  Adverse-effect notes: GI (vomiting, soft feces, diarrhea) — Most common, usually mild/self-limiting · ↑ Liver enzyme activity — With long-term oral use (not always associated with pathology)