Emla 5 cream

Approximately 30 min before dosing, Emla 5% cream (AstraZeneca) was applied to the skin covering the marginal vein of an ear, and the ear was warmed via gentle stroking. After 5 min, a small incision was made across the vein with a sterile scalpel blade, and 1 mL of blood (pretreatment sample) was collected into a sterile vacutainer (BD vacutainers, Franklin Lakes, NJ, USA) containing a clot activator (silicone-coated plastic for serum separation). Rabbits scheduled to be euthanised at 96 h were blood-sampled (post-treatment) again at 48 h.
Immediately following euthanasia (pentobarbitone injected into the marginal ear vein of the ear) or as soon as possible after death, all rabbits were blood sampled (terminal) via cardiac puncture into sterile vacutainers containing a clot activator for serum separation.
The serum was processed for biochemistry at the IDEXX-New Zealand Veterinary Pathology laboratory, Palmerston North, NZ, for the following biomarkers: aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), gamma glutamyltransferase (GGT), glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH), bilirubin, total bile acids, creatinine, amylase, lipase and creatine kinase (CK).

At each institution, an experienced physician performed the injection procedure. The detailed procedure has been described previously [8 ]. In summary, the procedure was performed via local anesthesia by injecting lidocaine (Lidocaine HCL Hydrate Injection 2%; Huons, Co., Ltd., Sungnam, Korea) or applying EMLA cream (Emla 5% cream; AstraZeneca Korea, Co., Ltd., Korea). The 17-gauge or 21-gauge injection needle was indwelled on the penile base at the 1–2 o’clock and 10–11 o’clock points. The filler was injected between the dartos and Buck’s fascia using a fanning technique. If necessary, a multiple puncture technique was used at the 3–4 o’clock or 8–9 o’clock points. The injected volume was initially set at 10 to 22 mL, and the actual injection volume was determined according to the penile size and physicians’ experience. After the injection was performed, the patients applied an elastic penile support bandage for 1 day and used antibiotics (first-generation cephalosporin) and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for 3 days. Patients were instructed to massage the penile shaft gently and to abstain from sexual intercourse for 1 month.