• Perineural anesthesia of the infraorbital nerve, a branch of the maxillary nerve.
• Perineural anesthesia of the supraorbital nerve, a continuation of the frontal nerve.
• To facilitate clinical examination and surgical procedures in the patient.

Uses

• Infraorbital nerve:
  • Placement of a nose ring in bulls Bull: inserting a nose ring.
  • Facilitates examinations of traumatic lesions of the upper lip, nostrils and bridge of the nose.
  • Minor surgery of the upper lip, nostrils and bridge of the nose.
  • Drug application into the infraorbital canal enables extraction of maxillary pre-molars and possibly the first molar.
  • As an adjunct in a patient under general anesthesia Anesthetizing cattle as part of multi-modal anesthesia and analgesia.
• Supraorbital nerve:
  • Trephination of the frontal sinuses.
  • Minor surgery of the upper eyelid.
  • Examination and treatment of traumatic skin lesions of the frontal region of the head.

Advantages

• Inexpensive and minimal equipment required.
• Minimal side effects.
• Allows standing surgery.
• Minimal patient recovery time.

Disadvantages

• Depending on accuracy of block placement, the area of desensitization can be variable.
• Knowledge of the anatomical landmarks is required.
• Good head restraint and excellent handling facilities are required.

Technical problems

• Anesthetic application into the nerve canal can be difficult.
• Palpation of the supraorbital nerve is rarely possible, and ‘blind’ injection based on landmarks is required.

Alternative techniques

• For examination, deep sedation Sedating cattle (for example, with xylazine HCl Xylazine).
• For more complex surgical procedures, general anesthesia Anesthetizing cattle.

Time required

Preparation

• Site preparation (clipping and surgical scrub): 5-10 min.

Procedure

• 5 min per side/nerve
• Allow 15-20 min for block to take effect.

Decision taking

Criteria for choosing test

• Lesion type and location.
• Generic factors that determine most appropriate type of anesthesia.

Risk assessment

• Good head restraint is required to allow accurate placement of nerve block and avoid injury to the patient and clinician alike (including self-injection) .