Local anesthetic causes a loss of sensation to a specific area. Small surgical or diagnostic procedures may require a local anesthetic. A skin biopsy or a small tumour removal are both procedures where local anesthetic can be used to control pain. A biopsy involves surgical removal of a small portion of tissue which can then be submitted to a histopathologist for interpretation and diagnosis.
We also use local anesthesia when performing declaw procedures on cats. We perform a ring block on the leg above the foot to provide post-operative pain relief when the cats recover from anesthesia.
Dental surgery is also a common reason for a local block. When extracting a tooth we inject a local anesthetic to freeze the nerve associated with that tooth. Many of you will recognize that your own dentist does the same for cavity fillings. This again relieves post-operative pain as the animal wakes from anesthesia.