Homeopathy as a protocol for post-surgical orchiectomy in rabbits: serial case study

doi:10.15406/ijawb.2023.07.00202

International Journal of

eISSN: 2574-9862

Avian & Wildlife Biology

Case Study Volume 7 Issue 3

Homeopathy as a protocol for post-surgical orchiectomy in rabbits: serial case study

Maria Luiza De Sousa Barbosa

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University Santo Amaro, São Paulo, Brasil

Correspondence: Maria Luiza De Sousa Barbosa, University Santo Amaro, São Paulo, Brasil, Tel +55 11 974646159

Received: November 06, 2023 | Published: November 15, 2023

Citation: Sousa Barbosa MLD. Homeopathy as a protocol for post-surgical orchiectomy in rabbits: serial case study. Int J Avian & Wildlife Biol. 2023;7(3):127-128. DOI: 10.15406/ijawb.2023.07.00202

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Abstract

This work aims to highlight the therapeutic potential of homeopathy in the postoperative period of orchiectomy in rabbits. It is an easy application method, proving a standard method for healing and infection control by strengthening the immune system. This study was done 3 male rabbits of different behaviors homeopathy was very well done.

Keywords: arnica montana, domestic rabbit, echinacea angustifolia, homeopathy, netherland dwarf, orchiectomy, rabbits

Introduction

According to Travagin,¹ Arnica montana 30cH had a good analgesic effect, indicating its potential as a postoperative analgesia agent in submitted to ovary salpingo hysterectomy. Arnica montana has analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and curative action, and its use is recommended especially for traumas, dislocations, sprains, and tendinitis. In addition, it has antioxidant and immunomodulatory activity.^2–4 It provides edema reduction and anti-inflammatory effects in facial plastic surgery and dental surgery.^5,6 Studies on the effects of this drug on animals are still scarce, although experiments on rats have highlighted reduced edema and better healing.^7,8

Echinacea angustifolia has been shown to act as an immunomodulatory activity, which guarantees the fight against infections,⁹ and has great potential for action in all skin conditions with a severe general condition, such as wounds that do not heal.¹⁰The popularization of rabbits as unconventional pets results in a great demand for the project by the owners of these animals. This study aims to report the use of arnica montana and echinacea in postoperative orchiectomy in rabbits.

Serial case study

Three male rabbits, domestic rabbits, Netherland Dwarf and Mini Lop, from one to three years old, weighing between 900 grams and 1.8 kg, were submitted to elective orchiectomy in the city of Ribeirão Pires, São Paulo. All patients were classified as ASA 1, according to the anesthetic risk classification proposed by the American Society of Anesthesiologists. The patients were submitted to an eight hour fast for food and hydration.

Ketamine 35 mg/kg, acepromazine 5 mg/kg and xylazine 3 mg/kg intramuscularly were used as anesthetic protocols. After twenty minutes of application, the animals were sedated and without painful stimulus. Trichotomy of the scrotal surface was then performed and after positioning the rabbit in the supine position, antisepsis was performed, which observed the sequence of chlorhexidine degerming - alcoholic chlorhexidine along the entire length of the scrotal and periscrotal cutaneous region. The testicles of all rabbits were removed by conventional technique, through the opening of the scrotum and subsequent ligation and section of the testicular cord. The surgery lasted less than fifteen minutes and the welfare of the animals submitted to the procedure was preserved, with a good breathing pattern and heart rate, and there was no need to intervene with other anesthetic protocols.

When the stimuli returned, about thirty minutes after the end of the surgery, they received the respective homeopathic solution in plus method: five globules in 30 ml of water, 1 ml every tem minutes interspersed for one hour. Arnica montana 30 cH and Echinaccea angustifolia 30 cH diluted in separate containers, produced according to the Brazilian Pharmacopoeia, were administered. After two hours of the procedure the animals are already feeding spontaneously and moving without restraint.

In the first three days, the surgical wound was cleaned and disinfected with saline solution and antiseptic liquid soap and moxibustion at the site. In the domestic rabbit and the Netherland Dwarf, complete healing occurred in five days. The mini Lop removed the surgical stitches two hours after the procedure, which resulted in exposure of the conduit and healing by second intention of one of the scrotal pouches, which did not accept the Elizabethan collar or dressing at the site, and licking was recurrent. The opposite scrotum healed completely in three days, the affected scrotum healed in fifteen days(Figures 1–3).

Figure 1 Surgical wound orchiectomy Mini Lop. A. scrotum two hours after the surgical procedure with removal of the stitches. B. scrotum after twenty four hours.
Source: the author, 2023.

Figure 2 Surgical wound orchiectomy Mini Lop. A. scrotum after three days, right side completely healed B. scrotum after seven days.
Source: the author, 2023.

Figure 3 Surgical wound orchiectomy Mini Lop. A. scrotum after ten days. B. scrotum after fifteen days.
Source: the author, 2023.

Conclusion

The use of Arnica provides a better anesthetic return, as also described in other studies with the use of the drug in postoperative surgery of ovariohysterectomy in, also acting in the control of pain, inflammation and hematoma at the site. Echinacea strengthens the individual's immune system, enabling them to act in the face of opportunistic infections, the three animals reported did not show any signs of pain or any other changes that would compromise their health status. If necessary, a thorough observation of the lesion aspect was made in order to detail the aspect of wound evolution and healing process. In two of the animals studied, complete healing occurred in five days. In one of the three animals, there was a greater potential for contamination, so complete healing occurred in fifteen days, only with homeopathic treatment at the beginning of the condition.