A 17 kg adult female cheetah was presented with a history of lameness of the left hind limb sustained in
the wild approximately a week earlier. The animal was anaesthetized for clinical examination by darting
using medetomidine-ketamine cocktail. Palpation of the left mid-shaft femur revealed a firm swelling and
crepitation. Radiography confirmed a complete transverse and overriding fracture of the left femur which
required open reduction and internal fixation. Hematology revealed lymphocytosis while biochemistry
showed hypoproteinemia, hypoglobulinemia and low alanine aminotransferase activity. Epidural lidocaine
hydrochloride was administered in the lumbosacral region to supplement medetomidine-ketamineisoflurane anaesthesia for the surgical procedure. Isoflurane concentration was maintained at 0.5-1.0% using
a rebreathing anaesthesia machine throughout the surgery. Temperature and cardiopulmonary parameters
remained stable intra-operatively. Hind limb paralysis extended for about seven hours post-operatively,
suggestive of prolonged post-operative local anaesthesia. The successful management of this surgical
procedure demonstrated the suitability of using the described anaesthesia protocol in surgical procedures
of the hind limbs in wild felidae.