Respiratory paralysis secondary to epidural anesthesia in a dog

Transient respiratory paralysis developed in a 12-year-old spayed female Cocker Spaniel that received an anesthetic epidurally for excisional biopsy of perianal masses. Paralysis developed almost immediately after injection of 2.5 ml of 2% lidocaine (1 ml/4.9 kg), and was managed by mechanical ventilation and appropriate fluid therapy IV until spontaneous respiration returned. The respiratory paralysis was attributed to the excessive cranial extent of the anesthetic block.