aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of romifidine
as epidural analgesic for standing flank and udder surgery in
buffaloes. For this purpose, romifidine was administered at dose 50
μg kg-1 via epidural space in 20 female buffaloes had to undergo
flank and udder surgery. Buffaloes were examined for time to onset of
analgesia, anatomic extent of analgesia, all systemic reactions to the
drug and the total procedure time. Moreover, heart rates, rectal
temperature, respiratory rates, feces and urine production as well as
the degree of analgesia, sedation and ataxia were recorded at
different intervals before (baseline) and after administration. In all
animals, epidural injection of romifidine induced a significant
decrease in the heart rate. However rectal temperature and
respiratory rate didn't show any significant changes. There was a
significant increase of analgesic effect with time progress. For all
animals, the peak analgesic period was extended from 15-240 minutes
post- administration of romifidine. Ten minutes after epidural administration, all buffaloes began to show signs of systemic sedation
(mild sedation, score = 1). Maximal sedative effect occurred between
30 and 180 minutes after epidural administration of romifidine. All
buffaloes developed moderate ataxia (score 2) 15-20 minutes
following epidural administration of romifidine and it lasted for up to
240 minutes. All these results provide evidence for a potential costeffective
intra- and postoperative method of analgesia for abdominal
and udder surgery in buffaloes, while allowing the patients to remain
standing. Therefore, romifidine might be promising as an analgesic
agent for buffaloes even for major abdominal surgery.