General Principles of Surgery

Prepare in Advance

Use a pre-surgical checklist to ensure that necessary supplies (instruments, drugs, syringes, clipper, scrub, suture, heating pads, etc.) are available and preparatory steps completed before beginning surgery. Arrange to have help available during the surgery. While it is not impossible to perform surgical procedures alone, it is extremely difficult to do them well. A ‘non-sterile’ assistant should be used whenever possible. The surgeon should have a thorough understanding of the surgical procedure and practice on inanimate models and/or cadaver animals before using live animals whenever possible.

Use Aseptic Technique

Aseptic technique encompasses all procedures designed to prevent the introduction of microbial contamination into the surgical wound. Failure to use correct aseptic technique may result in post-operative wound infections, animal suffering and invalid research data. Aseptic technique includes the use of sterile instruments, appropriate surgical preparation of the patient, the use of sterile gloves and appropriate attire, choice of an appropriate location for conducting the surgery and maintenance of sterility throughout the surgical procedure.

Handle Tissues Gently

Handle living tissue as gently as possible during surgery. Rough handling or crushing of tissues will lead to swelling, inflammation and post-operative pain and discomfort for the animal. To ensure gentle tissue handling, develop and practice your surgical technique on inanimate models and/or cadaver animals before proceeding to live animals.

Use Appropriate Anesthetic and Monitoring

General anesthesia is required during surgery. Anesthesia must be deep enough that the animal cannot feel pain yet not so deep that breathing and heart function are compromised. Respiration, cardiac function and anesthetic depth must be regularly monitored while the animal is anesthetized. Exactly how this is done will depend on the species of animal and type of surgical procedure.

Provide Post-Operative Care

Post-operatively, animals must be kept warm and monitored closely to ensure they recover from general anesthesia. Appropriate analgesic medications must be administered as needed. For 7 to 14 days after surgery, daily observation and evaluation is necessary to ensure there are no surgical complications (such as infection, bleeding, or poor wound healing) or unnecessary pain and distress. Complete surgical and post-operative records are required.

Immediately following surgery or any procedure requiring general anesthesia, animals must be monitored closely to ensure they recover uneventfully. Animals must be observed continuously until they regain a righting reflex.  Post-operative analgesia is required for all procedures expected to cause more than momentary pain. Analgesia may not be withheld without prior IACUC approval.
After surgery the animal must be observed and evaluated at least once a day for 7-10 days or until the wound is healed or the animal is euthanized, whichever comes first. In certain situations, animals may need to be checked more frequently. Potential post-surgical complications include pain, distress, infection, bleeding, or delayed wound healing. ARP veterinary staff must be notified if animals develop unexpected post-surgical complications. ARP veterinarians are available 24 hours a day via phone.

Unexpected Complications

Unexpected complications sometimes occur in association with surgery or postoperative recovery. A veterinarian must be consulted if there are complications that affect the welfare of the animal. Such complications may include infection, wound dehiscence, excessive weight loss, or higher than expected incidence of post-operative deaths. A veterinarian is available 24 hours a day by calling the Animal Resource Program Office at: 865-1495 (The phone number is posted in the animal facilities). If calling after hours, a recorded message will provide contact information.

Nonsurvival Rodent Surgery

In non-survival surgery the animal is not allowed to regain consciousness (i.e., euthanized prior to anesthetic recovery). Strict aseptic technique is not necessary for non-survival procedures. However, at a minimum, the surgical site should be clipped and scrubbed, the surgeon should wear gloves and instruments should be clean. The depth of anesthesia must be monitored throughout the procedure and adjusted as necessary.

Proceed to Record Keeping.