Single-site ventral distal paravertebral block is an effective method of anesthetizing the bovine paralumbar fossa.

SS-VDP block at L1 or L2 achieves 75% success for bovine paralumbar fossa anesthesia with a single injection.

This study evaluated the efficacy of a single-site ventral distal paravertebral (SS-VDP) block at vertebrae L1 or L2 for regional anesthesia of the bovine paralumbar fossa. Using a blinded, randomized crossover design, 8 healthy 5-month-old Holstein steers received SS-VDP blocks with 2% lidocaine (6 mg/kg) combined with methylene blue dye to assess both anesthetic efficacy and neural staining patterns. Anesthesia was assessed along the traditional paralumbar fossa incision site, and carcass dissection was performed post-euthanasia to characterize dye distribution across thoracolumbar spinal nerves. The overall block success rate was 75%, with both L1 and L2 injection sites producing effective anesthesia of the paralumbar fossa. Dissection revealed consistent staining of spinal nerves T13, L1, and L2 at both locations; however, the L1 approach demonstrated more reliable staining of T13 compared to the L2 approach. The anatomical findings suggest that the SS-VDP block is functionally a variant of the quadratus lumborum fascial plane block, given the close similarity between bovine hypaxial musculature and spinal nerve anatomy and those of other species. This technique offers a clinically meaningful alternative to traditional multi-injection paravertebral approaches (proximal and distal paravertebral blocks), potentially improving procedural efficiency, reducing time, and enhancing both patient welfare and practitioner safety by minimizing the number of injections required for adequate flank anesthesia.

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